To contest the will

[Coastalcommand]

Sorry if this is long, just trying to explain.
My grandparents were happily married until my grandmother sadly died about 15 years ago. She left everything to my grandad, as you would expect.
This included a large house, substantial savings and various other valuables.
My grandad was lost without her and married again, to a woman who also had her own family.
This was fine, we all got on well, until my grandad sadly died last year.
They drew up wills that left everything to each other, with whoever died second leaving it to their families that split with 80% going to our family and 20% to hers, reflecting the estate at the time they met (she did not own a property or have savings before they married).
As it happened, she sadly died a couple of months after him, and unbeknown to us, her children had been made executors to a new will which left everything to them.
To complicate matters, she was suffering from memory loss and dementia before she died and we don't think she would have had capacity to make a new will.
We have written to her Family and they responded through solicitors to say that they don't think she had anything wrong with her and if we want to challenge will have to take it to the courts.
This seems to be very expensive and I'm not quite sure how we would go about it. But it's sad that my grandparents wishes will not be followed and we have not even been allowed to collect our family photos and Mementoes from my grandparents house before it was sold. They didn't tell us she'd died and got a house clearance firm in without our knowledge. There is nothing left.
One of the executors actually sent a text message to my mum saying that if we do challenge it will we will get nothing anyway as they will have already spent all the money before it goes through the courts.
Would I be unreasonable to try to help my mum telling to this? Does anybody have any experience of this? Do will ever get over attend and is it hugely expensive to do this?

I'm going through the process to challenge a will I've been told court fees will be between 70 and 100k if I lose

70k - 100k

Your mum could have challenged your grandfathers will and been likely to succeed

She could have challenged but it is unlikely she would have succeeded. She would have been claiming under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. Any expectation she may have had is irrelevant. The only question the courts would consider is whether she had received reasonable provision in her father's will. In most (but not all) cases, reasonable provision for an adult child who is not dependent on their parents is nil, which is exactly what she received.

The law is different in Scotland but in England the courts have generally upheld the right of parents to disinherit their children.

If you want your property to go to a particular person/group of people then the only way you can ensure that is to make sure your will says so

I would also add back up Letter Of Wishes - also signed and witnessed by solicitor - partiucalry if you don't want someone to inherit

enourmous you have prompted me to have this convo with DH, never remarry! Its too risky!

Sadly I think your grandad made a mistake by not setting up some form of trust in his will where 80% of stuff was left to you but she was allowed to reside in the house until her death.

If he simply trusted her to abide by that it was a mistake and legally she can change her mind after he's died and change her will to leave everything to her kids. I think it will be difficult to prove lack of capacity especially when she's left everything to her family. Unless medical records back this up but it will depend when the new will was made.

but in England the courts have generally upheld the right of parents to disinherit their children

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33694303

Looks like that is gradually changing as experts quoted in this article said they are seeing an increase in wills being contested

One exception was that Ilot woman in 2015 who challenged (and won) after her mother had left her money to the RSPCA, RSPB and Blue Cross. Given she's an adult not a dependent child Idk how or on what grounds she successfully won this, but she did

You really need to set up wills that specify what is what if that does not happen you can be in such a pickle. Happened to a friend of ours who remarried, his son who was his executor and joint heir died, he did not rewrite his will to exclude son, so second wife inherited she then died and her awful children made off with everything leaving his other son from his first marriage with nothing.

Given she's an adult not a dependent child Idk how or on what grounds she successfully won this, but she did

By the time this case (Ilott v The Blue Cross and others) arrived in the Court of Appeal the executors had ceased any active involvement in the case and were not represented. The appeal was not considering the principle of whether or not the child should receive an inheritance, only the amount. The charities have appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Their ruling is expected later this month but they appear again to be ruling only on the amount to be awarded, not on the principle of whether or not an award should be made. The grounds on which Mrs Ilott won an award seem to be that she had been living on benefits for most of her adult life and the mother had no connection with the charities named in her will.

There is an increase in wills being contested but it remains the case that, in most situations, an adult who is not dependent on a parent will not be able to make a successful claim against the parent's estate.

I suspect it hinges on whether she had capacity to change the will at the time she did, which could be difficult to prove. Echo getting legal advice. Do you know when the new will was written?

I'm surprised your dgf wasn't advised to leave 80% of his estate to you with his wife having a life interest in the 80%. It may be worth checking your dgf will as would have been a much safer way and fairer way of dealing with it for both parties - there's all sorts that can go wrong in the mirror will setup, even apart from this sad situation - had the original will stood, for example, and his wife won the lottery or inherited from a third party, this would have gone to you if she hadn't had changed her will.

What absolute unfeeling arseholes they are being though. The unseemly haste and lack of information provided to your mother makes me think they may have something to hide.

Has the estate gone through probate yet?

There is a legal topic available in mumsnet if you repost there you may get a real solicitor to help you. The lurk there.

This just goes to show that wills need to be made properly and watertight.

I think you would have a case because the original wishes of the person who brought the wealth to the marriage have been overturned.

It's unlikely that a challenge to the Will will be easy, you'd have to prove she lacked capacity at the time, which unless there's a helpful medical report to the effect will be pretty difficult. The lawyer who made the Will will also have (unless they're bad lawyers) extensive notes on the issue of capacity if they've made a Will for an older client.

The only real hope is that they settle rather than cost the estate on fees, but equally you'd have to have the money to challenge it, and as your mother is a non dependant there isn't any guarantee that she'd get anything. (Probate barrister)

I think you would have a case because the original wishes of the person who brought the wealth to the marriage have been overturned

That is not relevant. He left his estate to his new wife. What she did with it after that was entirely up to her. He could have written his will in a way that ensured his children inherited eventually. He chose not to, rather foolishly as it turns out. The courts will not step in just because his wishes have been ignored.

I am a solicitor practicing in this area of law. It is a very complicated area which tends to be very fact specific. Please get proper legal advice and I second finding a solicitor through STEP if you do not already have one. Have an initial meeting where costs, timeframes and all your other questions can be answered, pay for this if necessary as it may save you money in the long run. I am sorry you have to go through this. It shows why it's important to have a properly advised upon Will drawn up in the first place especially when considering blended families.

Thank you all. You've given me a lot to think about. In answer to your questions, she died three months after him, so not within the 28 days specified in his will.
The new will was done on her deathbed. It was done by a solicitor and witnessed by her relatives. No doctor was present. The signature is a scribble, so I think she must have been very poorly by then.
It's so sad. I actually really liked her and tried to get in touch with her over those three months but she was in hospital then a hospice so my letters and calls were not received.

Are the witnesses the beneficiaries? It's my understanding that you can't witness a will you benefit from, in which case that would be enough to invalidate it. Or was it other relatives?

They drew up wills that left everything to each other, with whoever died second leaving it to their families that split with 80% going to our family and 20% to hers, reflecting the estate at the time they met (she did not own a property or have savings before they married)

Sadly, the time to contest a will was at your grandfather's death. He should have left his estate to his 2nd wife in a lifetime trust, but then the estate passing to his heirs.

You have no call in law (as I understand it) on his 2nd wife's estate.

That family has behaved appallingly - they are morally corrupt & criminal, but not in law - as I understand it.

Op, what a sad situation. I'd echo that at least consult a solicitor - then your dm and you will at least know that you did what you could, even if it turns out there are not good prospects of challenging the will.

Re this; "If you want your property to go to a particular person/group of people then the only way you can ensure that is to make sure your will says so".

Actually I am coming to think that the only way you can really ensure this is to give the property to them while you are alive! There is always the risk of the contested will otherwise. Especially if dspouse remarries - however many 'don't remarry' warnings you issue! (And yes, have just had that conversation again, prompted by this thread - as another pp said, divorce is a real risk there.)

Op, so sorry your dm is going through this.

"They drew up wills that left everything to each other, with whoever died second leaving it to their families that split with 80% going to our family and 20% to hers"
"
How was that made clear? If it was in the will itself, does that mean that there was in fact a life interest trust? If it was a side letter saying 'this is what I hope will happen' that is different. But as far as I know (not an expert!) you can in certain cases make a binding agreement that the parties will not change their wills - the experts on this thread will know! and it may be worth looking into whether this happened. I thought the technical term for this was 'mirror wills' but seems from below I am wrong - but still worth looking into.

What a truly awful situation, I am so sorry. You must be emotionally drained with it all. Wills do get contested and yes it can be expensive. There are plenty of no win no fee solicitors out there but you need to be sure they specialise in this area and also what their fees are should you win. In this case it is definitely worth getting professional advice as all the warning signs are there - 2nd marriage, not telling anyone, questionable capacity and intimidation by text. Do you have a copy of the original wills? A good solicitor will ask the right questions and should, I hope, give you a fair indication of whether you can win a court case. I wish you well with this.

On her death bed surrounded by Beneficiaries......

Way bother dividing estate 80/20 in first place if had no interest in his family getting it? PERHAPS crap advice in original will ¿

Ladore, that's an interesting point. I think people are understandably very unwilling/unable to believe that their dspouse would not 'do the right thing' - it is quite a difficult thing to comprehend about a dh/dw. And life interests in wills do add a bit of complexity to what most people want to keep simple.

So you get a 'oh s/he would never do that' mentality when people make their wills, and they rely on the dspouse keeping to the arrangement. Which does not always work out.

If the witnesses are beneficiaries then the gifts to those beneficiaries fail. The will would still remain valid but the portion that would have gone to the witnesses/beneficiaries would be subject to the rules of intestacy. If they are not beneficiaries then you would have to prove lack of capacity or duress. Because someone has dementia does not mean they don't necessarily have capacity. Get your Mum to a solicitor specialising in wills, most give a free 30 minutes consultation. I think given their behaviour after your step grandmothers death I don't think you are being unreasonable to look into a challenge - they sound very defensive.