Wills. Reading them.

[Nottobesoldseparately]

Not AIBU as such, but.......

When someone dies, with a will, is there a legal requirement for it to be read?

If there is, and it's not read, who would be in trouble and who would you report it to?

I've always known it to be an automatic process which is part and parcel of dealing with the death of a loved one so never questioned the legalities.

Background. Family member died, his wife has refused to have the will read, as she inherits it all anyway, being the spouse. We beleive this to be the truth, however there are adult children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who are more than likely to have been left something in advance of the wife dying. (Relative was very wealthy, he died about 3 years ago)

Not my business and I won't inherit, but, my mum has just been informed , by the deceased's wife, that she's the executor of the will and my mum is wondering what the hell she is supposed to do now?

Any ideas?

Your mum is/was supposed to access the will an see what it says. She may want a solicitor to help, it depends on how complex it is. After MILS death we had to have a solicitor (very complicated) but after Uncle's death my cousin did it himself.

What your mum should do now is contcat CAB or a solicitor and ask for their advice, just in case there are any repercussions. But they won't fall on your mum...

Sorry, got my tenses all confused there. I hope it makes sense!

www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Depending on the timings/amount of estate you should be able to order a copy here.

OP are you saying your Mum is the executor of the Will, or that the deceased’s wife is executor? It’s not clear from the way you have phrased your post.

The 'reading of the will' in the uk is not mandatory in terms of reading out loud to family members as they do in the films.

However, as an executor you have legal responsibilities to execute the will as per its instructions. Once probate has been granted you can get a copy of the will.

Is your mum the executor or the wife as I wasn't sure from your post?

Definitely no legal formal reading of the will in England - at least there wasn't for either of my parents where solicitors were acting as Executors. The Executor has to action the will though so obviously needs to see it.

Did you not feel I had asked that question clearly enough BatsareCool?

I understand, your mum wants to see the will and needs to know how. She is just going on the word of the deceased's wife.

My mum is apparently the executor.

The widow is her sister, and notoriously tight when it comes to money, which is why my mum thinks widow is refusing to have it read, in case my uncle decided to give his kids some money.
She point blank refuses to hand the will over and my mum doesn't know what to do now. Although we do now you can request a copy of the will, but only if it was lodged with the probate office??

My mum is elderly herself, and could do do without a load of hassle at this time in her life if truth be told. She also doesn't want, at this late stage of their lives to be falling out with her sister.

How do you find out if probate has been granted?

Sorry, I've never had to deal with this myself.

JessieMcJessie wow!

I took a few minutes to compose my response to the thread without refreshing the page again before I hit post. Not sure why that would cause such offence as it's a common occurrence on threads but clearly it's rattled you a lot.

OP any chance you would know which solicitor was used to create the will in the first place. If you do then you could try and contact them first.

OP there does appear to be a national will register and looking at it some solicitors do register details there but not all. That might be another avenue to try.

Does your mum feel up to contacting a solicitor herself even if it's to find out how to revoke her responsibilities as an executor without a copy of the will?

No idea about the solicitor, I will speak to my mum again and find out what she wants to do.

She might well ask for the details, so she revoke her responsibilities, that might just prompt my aunt to deal with it, as presumably the solicitor will then take it on board to deal with it and charge her (My aunt) and she won't like the idea of having to pay for something.

Thanks every one.

Explanation of executor’s rights and responsibilities here

If your mum is the only executor, probate won’t be granted without her applying.

Reading the Will isn’t a thing, but as executor it should be your mum who the solicitor is communicating with.

The executors can’t do their job without seeing the will. I was the executor for both my parents’ wills. There’s no need for a solicitor if the will is straightforward, just the forms to fill in for probate. I suspect your aunt doesn’t want anyone to know how much money’s involved. Is she an executor too?

Probate cannot have been granted if your mum is the Executor and has not renounced her right to extract probate in favour of someone else, as she will have had to sign the Grant of Probate Application Form. If there is a usual solicitor that your uncle is likely to have used your mum / you (on her behalf) could contact them to see if they hold the original will as that would be usual if it was executed through a solicitors, with your uncle retaining a copy.

www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/information-guides/ageukil8_how_to_be_an_executor_inf.pdf

That link didn’t seem to work. Try this or if still not working Google Age UK executor.

If the estate is substantial and sounds like it is then no funds or assets can be released without probate. If your mum is the sole executor only her or a solicitor appointed by her can apply for probate. She needs to see a solicitor. She can revoke her role as executor but not sure who would be responsible for appointing a new one. Maybe the probate office

A new executor doesn’t need to be appointed unless OP’s mum is the only one. The other executor for my parents stepped down and I was the sole one. He had to sign a form though.

Your mums sisters probably has no idea about entailed here or the law.

I would make sure your mum knows the law as does her sister.

Why is she hiding the will...

Your mum needs to legally see this will and then decided what to do, but over X amount it must be put through probate otherwise it's illegal

If your mother has been named as executor she has to see the will in order to deal with the estate. If she doesn't want to be the executor she needs to speak to a solicitor and see about somebody else doing it - like a family solicitor if no one wants to step up.
'Will reading' where the family sits round, usually dressed in black, and listens to the sonorous tones of a solicitor reading out the various bequests, is a fiction of films. Anybody with half a brain can understand a will and read it for themselves.
Wills are publicly viewable only after probate has been granted (I.e. everything is done and dusted).

Yes, Will readings do not exist and are purely to facilitate plot progression in films and TV.

The executor needs to deal with obtaining the grant of probate and will in due course inform any beneficiaries of any amount/items due to them. Only residuary beneficiaries are entitled to see a copy of the Will, but once probate is granted it becomes a legal document and can be obtained from the Probate Registry. Contact, I think it’s Leeds Probate Registry, and ask them to do a search of the register. You need to fill in and a form and send off with payment (around £20 - been a few years since I last did one). You might even be able to do it online.

That said, if he died relatively recently there is little point as in my 15 year experience with probate, with a big estate you are unlikely to have probate granted before three to six months. I think you can opt when sending in a search application to register an interest so that if probate is granted within a certain timescale they will let you know. As I said, it’s best to contact the Probate Registry as it’s been a fair few years since I needed to do a search.

Probate cannot have been granted if your mum is the Executor and has not renounced her right to extract probate in favour of someone else Unless nobody 'in authority' knows there is a will! Which the widow may be relying on!

You mum needs to have the will to process the contents, but there's no need for a "will reading" the will could be scanned and forwarded to all listed people.