Advice on inheritance disputes

[Ilovechinese]

Hi I'm just wondering if anyone on here has been to court to contest a will and if so how long did it take to get to court and what the process is. I'm going through this at the minute (well not got to court yet) but have a caveat in place to stop probate.

@atillathehun no it is permanent because they sent me a warning and I put in an appearance which means the only way to remove it is if all parties agree or they will have to take me to court

Is anyone living in the house? Maybe they are just taking advantage of living there instead of selling and trying to wait you out all the while benefiting from free lodgings

Would it be fair to assume your dad married your mum who already had child/ren and then they had you. Dad died first and mum has recently passed away leaving the property to your half siblings?

So if you lose out you want everyone to lose out?

Don’t contest it. As pp have said, the only winners will be the lawyers.

I used to live a few doors away from a house that had been caught up in a disputed will. It took at least 10 years for a settlement to be reached and the house was neglected during that time. When it was eventually sold, it was worth much less due to needing so much work.

I live next to a property that similar to Lockshunkugel. The property sold for half it's initial value due to the relations fighting over its ownership.

Be careful, OP, if your mindset is that 'it's the principle of ..'. That can be dangerous. I can see you wouldn't be happy if the estate is wiped out in legal costs. Please bear in mind that might happy if you win. If you lose, you may be liable for all your legal costs and the (Likely inflated) legal costs of the executor. If the will was taken by an independent solicitor then you might be starting on the back foot.

We had a similar issue and chose not to contest. I've only heard of it causing heartache.

Sorry you are going through this.

I'm not saying they are in the right, OP, just trying to highlight some of the risks. It might be that the beneficiaries decide that a split would cost them less than fighting you and the executor has the beneficiaries agree a variance to the will. Have you asked your solicitor what their strategy is?

Contesting the will won’t change what that parent wanted to give op.
Save yourself the heartache and begin to grieve.

Equally if there is more of them they might split the legal costs so have more reserves to draw on than you.

You sound really hurt OP but it might actually be what the deceased wanted. Your dad (I assume) left the money to your mum, she was then free to do with it as she wished. Regardless of him earning it as you said in your OP, on her death it was her money to do with as she wanted.

My SM was a legal secretary for many years and told me about the will contest cases she saw across the years. She said the estate diminished and people ended up with huge legal bills but just couldn't get over the bitterness. The firm would happily take on a case even if they thought it wouldn't be successful because they are a business and out to make money. Remember that, your solicitor is looking at you as a potential cash cow because these cases go on for a very, very long time.

I would spend the money on therapy instead and help get rid of the bitterness. You sound so very unhappy

I've never contested a will but I'm aware I may have to in due course, so I've read around the subject a little.

A will can be overturned not only because of improprieties in its making (issues around capacity or coercion, for example) but also because of its effects. Factors that may be taken into account include current and future need, and expectations of inheritance. Expectations might derive from actual promises, or from, for example, any kind of reciprocity the will was expected to express, such as in acknowledgement of care of an elderly parent by an adult child (I realise this may go against the grain with some people morally, but the point is that the law acknowledges such expectations as reasonable). Also germane might be the origin of the estate, so, for example, it might be argued that a child could expect to inherit a proportion of the estate from a parent who originally inherited from their deceased spouse (i.e. the child's other parent), presuming no complications like remarriage.

I was going to draw your attention to the Ilott case but see you're already familiar with it. Worth remembering that in that case there were no siblings or other individual beneficiaries, only charity bequests (cat homes, I think!) which made the expectations clearer to quantify.

You need expert legal advice really, not opinions from randoms on the internet, so if you have a lawyer already I suggest you listen to what they're telling you, and if you're questioning the merit of the legal opinion you've already had then consult someone new to see if you get the same advice or not. Good advice now is crucial in deciding how deep to get into this.

I'm sorry for your bereavement and the pain its consequences are causing you.

I assume your solicitors has sent one of these?

www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/101713

@Ilovechinese read the post by @Upstartcrones, and then read it again!

And no, you will not get the correct advice from random posters on MN.

The usual reasons for disputing a Will are:-

1. Testamentary Capacity swarb.co.uk/banks-v-goodfellow-qbd-1870/
2. Knowledge and Contents
3. Undue Influence
4. That the Will had not been executed correctly

Just because someone has a terminal illness does not mean that they lacked testamentary capacity. Solicitors usually follow what is known as "the golden rule" in this type of circumstance, where time allows obviously, and seek a medical opinion as to testamentary capacity before the Will is executed, or sometimes afterwards if time is of the essence and the matter may be contentious, for example if there is an unequal split between siblings or if they have deviated wildly from a previous Will.

If you were a financial dependent and you don't think you have received reasonable financial provision under the Will you could possibly claim under this.

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63

Seconding the advice of PP: better to invest in therapy than in this - it will only bring more pain.

* You sound really hurt OP but it might actually be what the deceased wanted. Your dad (I assume) left the money to your mum, she was then free to do with it as she wished. Regardless of him earning it as you said in your OP, on her death it was her money to do with as she wanted.*

This. Consider that the parent who died first could’ve protected you by leaving something to you in their will but instead left it all to their spouse, who then had control of the whole lot.

Actually my parents made a joint mirror will stating they both wanted it equally split between all children but my Dad died first. So why would my mum change it unless she was pressured and manipulated into it? Plus I dont care if it's what she wanted. It's spiteful and nasty to leave everything to one child when you have more that one unless for a really good reason as in one was a murderer or had nothing to do with them in life when in reality my younger sibling and I had far more to do with her than the one I'm talking about. So shes basically said a big F* you ti my younger sibling and I so why in hell would I respect her wishes (and thsts even if it was her wishes) cos it's not exactly like I can ask her now is it and believe me I wish I could!

The problem is, it is a very emotional time, and it is likely you are not thinking straight

I would take some time before jumping in with the solicitors.
Obviously I don't know your circumstances but my experience is that in a dispute over a will, both sides think that the other is motivated only by greed and did not care enough for the deceased
Nothing you do can bring them back or change what happened while they were alive.
If you truly don't care about the money, let it go. Ask them if, in return for dropping it, you can have some sentimental tokens.
Then comfort yourself by rising above it, because it is very unlikely you will win

Who is the executor, OP? Is that also your half-sibling, or someone else?

Op I’ve been through similar but there wasn’t a will in place so the estate had to be distributed by intestate. The relative that applied for probate decided that me and my brother weren’t worthy of our share and distributed it between other family members. It wasn’t a life changing amount. I went to a solicitor and fought it along with my brother and we got most of it back.

But the thing is while your caught up in it your angry and all your energy goes into that. But once it’s over the true reality of it kicks in. I was so and still am so incredibly hurt by the actions of my entire family. I have completely cut ties with them and to be honest I would not p*ss on them if they were on fire. I don’t think I will truly get over what they did and I went through a grieving process.

Regards to the money, money is fickle, it comes and it goes. it’s nothing in the grand scheme of things, but your own health and sanity is. If I had the choice again I would have just walked away. I came out of it pretty well, I was entitled to the money so it was pretty open and shut. Yours is not so simple. Please think about this with a clear mind. Don’t let anger drive you as you could end up with huge debts and nothing to show for it. Think about the family closest to you and do what’s best for them.

What was your relationship with your mum like OP?

Is there anything at all to say that the original mirror wills were made with the intention of the couple to create a binding agreement? If so you could argue that they were actually mutual wills which would not allow the surving partner to change their will.

The trouble is these solicitors are just like divorce lawyers. They work on billed costs, NOT no win no fee arrangements. Just like divorce they feed off parties emotions, bitterness and anger and dont need to have a better than 50% chance to take on a case. So they just bill and bill every month eating up fees at £250 plus per hour. Plus charging 6 mins for every standard phone call and email. These cases can go on forever and ever and everyone gets poorer and poorer whilst the lawyers earn more regardless. I say this as a solicitor myself !!
I can feel your pain OP - Id be so so angry and upset too. Not only do you to have to deal with the bereavement but also this kick in the teeth as well. I would be devastated too. Really upset. I needed my dads inheritance when he died as I was in debt. Ours was shared equally, me and my brothers. If I was excluded I doubt Id ever have gotten over it.
I hope you find peace in whatever action you choose to take