To ask WWYD re inheritance

[littleteethies]

I'll try to keep this as brief as poss, more of a WWYD I think
DM and DF bought a house 20 years ago (v nice location, meant for their retirement) months before DM passed away (v sudden and unexpected). DF met someone else (let's call her W from witch) v soon after (months) and again v soon after that he retired, sold his business interests and moved in with W into said house.
I did find it all rushed at the time but I was 20 hrs old, devastated after losing DM and just wanted DF to be happy. There was never any conflict between me and W, quite the opposite, although as the years went by I came to realise she was very selfish towards DF and just not a nice person.
About 5 years ago, DF's health deteriorated and I believe he and W have arranged wills. In a casual convo they told me that the agreement is that the surviving partner gets to remain in the house until their death, at which point it will be sold and split equally between me and W's son.
I had no objection whatsoever, my main concern was DF getting better and I even refused to talk about wills and inheritance and things like that. The justification was that W has sold her property whilst living with DF and given DF half the value of the house - I find this vv hard to believe as DF also sold another 2 properties whilst with her (again bought together with DM), had a pension and still worked; there's no way he could have spent all that money. But as it was now her home as well I felt that was the right thing to do.
My DF passed away too a couple of years ago, it completely floored me and the last thing on my mind was this house. Before the funeral she told me it would cost £8k to "read the will" and as we already know what their agreement was, there is no point to waste so much money.
I kept in v close contact with W, mainly because I felt she was a kind of link I had with DF's memory but as months went by this link started to fade and she became somewhat disinterested. However every time I went to see her, take her out for lunch etc she made a point of telling me how her son has given her money for various home improvements and generally pointing out many negatives about the house - they all seemed if not made up, then greatly exaggerated.
This made me somehow suspicious so one day over lunch I've casually asked to see DF's will. All hell broke loose, she started screaming at me, calling me names and stormed off. Just like that.
She has not spoken to me since, although bar a birthday card and a card for an anniversary, I've made no attempt either. I have though searched online and there is no will logged with DF's name; I've also looked up land registry records and the house has been in her name since 2003 (I presume DF's name was also on it and taken off).
I guess my question would be If there's anywhere to go from here? If the house is now solely in her name and I don't have a copy of DF's will, does that mean I have no claim whatsoever? Is there any point paying a solicitor?
It's hell of a lot of money to say goodbye to, but what kills me is it's the house DM bought and envisaged retiring in and this nasty woman got everything DM didn't have a chance to. And why didn't I say anything to DF at the time, but that's another thread.

How could she have taken it off ?

Just when I thought I was getting somewhere !!!

Solicitor up now littleteethies she's up to no good

It should come off when it transfers from two to one, how that happened is another matter.

Two things are required to remove a form A restriction. First, the owner or owners need to sign Land Registry form RX4 and second, the owner(s) needs to swear a “Statutory Declaration as to Equitable Title”. Swearing means signing in the presence of a solicitor and a statutory declaration is a sworn statement of fact, like an affidavit. The statement confirms that the owner(s) is fully entitled to the equity in the property no third party not named on the title is entitled to a share. To be valid it needs to be worded in a particular way and should be drafted by a solicitor. Note that the solicitor in the presence of who the declaration is sworn cannot draft the document.

As I cannot find a will or probate I presume she destroyed it, then sworn no third party (i.e. Me) would be entitled to anything.

It’s highly irregular for that restriction to come off without the property having been sold and the interest overreached (that’s a technical term). In fact, short of something very very unusual PLUS shoddy (albeit not necessarily negligent) solicitors, I can’t think how it would happen.

You need to take everything you know to a solicitor in a firm that deals with will & probate as well as property. Most towns in the UK will have one or more. I see no harm at this stage in going to the one your father used.

I hope for your sake your DF did things in writing, and that there’s a paper trail. I have a horrible feeling you’re being had.

To be honest, you need to see a solicitor only they can advise you. But if she has committed fraud. The fact they werent married will help you but only if you can find out what exactly happened.

JohnHunter my take on this is much the same as your own, and I agree that DF's arrangements indicate both proper advice (and probably an existing will). Since it's not been probated, though, isn't there a question of what's actually happened to any such will and how OP can access it?

It's also true answers may be needed over what W's done with any other assets (apart from the bank accounts, I believe OP said she's already disposed of a car and jewellery?), plus the issue of what it will cost to sort this out when W doesn't exactly sound cooperative

What an awful situation for OP to have to deal with

This will likely come down to a question of proof (as it often does). If she’s destroyed his will, she needs to hope and prey he didn’t lodge a copy with his solicitor.

Surely if she destroyed the will then the intestacy rules would apply to your father's estate and there would be a third party who was entitled to benefit (i.e. you), so her declaration was false.

Op is really feel for me you although it seems there is A lot chink of light here for you.

As with other posters it's this bizarre claim that it will cost 8 grand to see the will. I suspect that is actually some cost of going through proper channels to validate the will... Could be the tax threshold or anything
It's the alarm bell anyway and in fact I would say that alone tells us something stinks.
Do not speak to her!!she is scared, she doesn't want you snooping. You will get nothing from her until you arm yourself with information you can then use as leverage.

What I will say is thus is why we need to move past the embarrassment of discussing wills!! Op if you had simply listened and gone through all this when your dad tried to mention it you may not be in this fix now
I am not admonish in you, just if anyone is reading this in a similar situation, for goodness sake don't get high and mighty about this stuff. It's confusing and painful if things get to this point!!

You need to speak to solicitors tomorrow and get onto this quickly. I'm not legally knowledgeable but it sounds very fishy.

She has stolen your DF house.

I see this frequently and the pattern of events and actions is all there in your post. It happens all too often. The sooner people get taught about finances, property ownership, mortgages and money as a mainstream school subject the better.

You need to engage a quality solicitor to do some digging. Likely that he did do a Will with the capital coming to you eventually and she has suppressed it. Highly probable, believe me.

But if there isn't a will / she has destroyed it/ not be lodged wouldn't that come under intestacy ? And as I am nok would I not be entitled to his share ?
I can prove the restriction was there last year so they were indeed tenants in common.
The restriction has not been taken off through a will execution/ reading so the only way it would have been taken off is by her swearing there is no third party (i.e. Me) entitlement in which case she has lied and committed fraud.

Her name on land registry
No known will ! She probably binned it
Most powerful thing is that her name is on the house
If no provision made before dads death then if there is / was a lot of cash death duties would kick in in which case any fortune would be badly eroded in any case
Divide that by 2 and you may not have lost as much As you think
I’d get a private eye on it fight fire with fire

Mistakes do happen all the time. It's worth at least one payment to solicitor to give you advice.

If she’s destroyed his will, she needs to hope and prey he didn’t lodge a copy with his solicitor

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it quite usual for solicitors to retain a copy of wills they'd drawn up?

There may not be a solicitor he may have done it himself

Her story stinks, get legal advice and see what she's hiding.

Bloody hell op

What I will say is thus is why we need to move past the embarrassment of discussing wills!!

^
This

There is far too much secrecy and unspoken stuff when it comes to death and wills. Things are so much easier if everyone has clear legal instruction about what is to happen, especially in more complicated family situations. Although I completely understand that the OP was probably far too young at the time to deal with this when her DF spoke about it.

littleteethies please can I suggest, if you see a solicitor for advice, that you take someone with you ... preferably someone not too heavily involved and who can take careful notes?

Only this is getting more and more involved and, since it's sometimes hard to recall every little thing which was said, I find it can be useful to have a second pair of ears

I cant see how you can lose here OP.

Either there is a will lodged somewhere and the wishes he expressed are confirmed - so you get 1/2 house after she dies.

Or he didn't write a will but died intestate so you get 1/2 house now.

Or she has destroyed any will so intestate still applies and you get 1/2 house now.

And she has possibly committed fraud with other assets.

Get cracking on it - ring around a few local solicitors - speak directly and confidentially to a solicitor in case she has any mates who could tip her off.

Sorry I've been off the thread all day. OP, I'm so pleased you are going to look for DF's solicitor and engage one of your own. It's a matter of simple justice that this gets resolved.

If a solicitor did the will they will have a notarized copy. Please do come back and update us as more information becomes available.

First you need to check with every solicitor where he lived to find out whether they wrote a Will for him.

If W destroyed the Will, then she's done you a huge favour as you are the sole beneficiary of his estate. If she kept the Will, she will have to let you see it. I'd get a solicitor asap.