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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To.ask if any solicitors on here could help me with understanding wording of a will ? I did ring the solicitors but they are now closed for good .

96 replies

Tiddleandplonk · 19/08/2021 13:55

My dear dad made a will which says he gives all his money to my step mum
And if she dies within 30 days of the will ... Which she hasnt...he gives the below to so and so..
My df stated as part of this that when my dc get to 21 years of age they should be given 10k each. .
Does this mean it was his wishws anyway.. or only if my step mum died in 30 days of the will.? Is it a way of saying he wanted them to have the money at 21.
?
As the solicitor in question is closed down
am not sure who to ask to clarify . Thank you.

OP posts:
Original poster
Tiddleandplonk · 19/08/2021 14:54

Nosquirells. It was some time ago. I requested the will as she wd never talk about such matters,dc setting up.first homes,plus she has met another man .

OP posts:
OrtolanVeil · 19/08/2021 14:58

So where is the bit that's labelled Clause 3?

"Absolutely" implies to me "regardless of anything else ". I'm not a lawyer but I'd read that as entirely separately to the wife bit.

Monkeybusinesss · 19/08/2021 14:59

You just need to seek legal advice
Your wording of that will isn’t clear.

Svalberg · 19/08/2021 15:01

If 2 people die in the same accident and there's some doubt as to who died first, it's assumed that the elder died first. This is why I have a 30 day clause in mine so that DHs family don't get everything rather than mine.

NoSquirrels · 19/08/2021 15:03

@Tiddleandplonk

Nosquirells. It was some time ago. I requested the will as she wd never talk about such matters,dc setting up.first homes,plus she has met another man .
If it’s all been through probate and the money distributed then I’m afraid you really don’t have any way to claim. I’m not sure why people are saying it’s unclear. I assume Clause 3 is the clause that states that the money goes to stepmother?
OrtolanVeil · 19/08/2021 15:07

I take back my previous post. It does read as if the grandson gets it only if the wife dies within 30 days. Sorry for not thinking!

HasaDigaEebowai · 19/08/2021 16:55

You just need to seek legal advice
Your wording of that will isn’t clear.

People should always take their own legal advice.
However the wording is clear unless the OP has deliberately missed bits out. Everything to wife. If however wife dies within 30 days then distribute as follows: etc

Its standard and seems clear. But to check with a lawyer should only cost a few hundred pounds at most.

Original poster
Tiddleandplonk · 19/08/2021 17:32

No.i left nothing out.

OP posts:
CorrBlimeyGG · 19/08/2021 17:44

Clause 3 is the bequest to his wife. Is that correct? If so, then anything outside clause 3 does not apply if she survived past 30 days.

JustLyra · 19/08/2021 18:01

@Tiddleandplonk

What i dont understand is 30 days what is the chance of that ? Seems odd to me or is it normal. ? !
It’s common to put it in a will in case a couple essentially die together - say a car accident with one dying instantly and then the other the next morning.
HasaDigaEebowai · 19/08/2021 18:31

You left out the clause numbering and the punctuation (although we don’t always use punctuation) and the layout. All of these aid interpretation in this scenario.

However it seems pretty clear to me that everything went to his wife. The other arrangements only kicked in if she died straight after him. Which she didn’t. So they become redundant.

EvenRosesHaveThorns · 19/08/2021 18:34

I hope you've got a nice big patio ;)

HasaDigaEebowai · 19/08/2021 18:43

Always important to know patio size when interpreting a will..

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 19/08/2021 18:54

@Tiddleandplonk

It says ... I give and bequeath all my estate unto my wife........ Absolutely given that she shall survive me for a period of 30 days. If my said wife... shall not survive me for a period of thirty days then i direct clause 3 thereof shall not take effect and this my will shall be construed as if clause 3 had been wholly omitted therefrom and the following clausws of my will shall take effect in lieu of the above clause 3. I give the following legacies absolutely; To my grandson .... the sum of 10,000 upon his attaining the age of 21. Same for dd.
A good example IMO of why it’s best to use plain English and not legalese when drawing up a will.
urbanbuddha · 19/08/2021 19:00

You should take it to a solicitor. It's not clear which point/s are in clause 3.

HasaDigaEebowai · 19/08/2021 19:02

I suspect it is and that the op just didn’t include the clause numbers and punctuation

tickingthebox73 · 19/08/2021 19:26

@Tiddleandplonk

What i dont understand is 30 days what is the chance of that ? Seems odd to me or is it normal. ? !
Normal. Its to rule out the possibility of them both dying in (say) a car crash, but one survives for a few hours - you want in that case for the wills to be sorted out as though they had both died at the same time.

So person A leaves everything to their partner or then their life long friend and person B leaves everything to their partner or their kids....In a car crash situation you wouldn't want the lifelong friend inheriting everything just because person B happened to pass 10 minutes before person A.

SailYourShips · 19/08/2021 19:30

We have the 30 day thing in our wills. I thought it was pretty standard.

It means the lot goes to the person named who survives the 30 days. It then becomes/is absorbed into their estate and, as it is then their money, they are under no obligation to give anyone anything.

If the will had read, 'I give Janet and Joan £10,000 each and the rest goes to my wife if she survives me by thirty days' then they would get their cash' but in your case it sounds as if that would only happen if his wife had died within 30 days of his death.

Anyway, as others have said, take it to a solicitor and they will explain it. It doesn't matter that the solicitor who drew it up is no longer around, any solicitor will do,

Original poster
Tiddleandplonk · 19/08/2021 19:30

Photo of will

To.ask if any solicitors on here could help me with understanding wording of a will ? I did ring the solicitors but they are now closed for good .
OP posts:
HasaDigaEebowai · 19/08/2021 19:32

They don’t get anything op. It all went to the wife legitimately

NoSquirrels · 19/08/2021 19:36

It’s very clear. Your stepmother inherited and there was no provision for your DC. Sorry.

TweedePrik · 19/08/2021 19:39

Clause 5 makes it look like a separate bequest though. I would see a solicitor!

NoSquirrels · 19/08/2021 19:41

Btw, I totally get your disappointment. My FIL did the same, leaving everything to his second wife. It’s all now in her estate. It very much stung my DH that his children’s families were effectively disregarded. It was a second marriage quite late in life and she was much younger than FIL so of course he should have considered he’d predecease her and the effect of that. Perhaps he did and just didn’t care, though? It really upset my DH and his siblings - they’d have loved even a token to all his grandchildren.

NoSquirrels · 19/08/2021 19:42

@TweedePrik

Clause 5 makes it look like a separate bequest though. I would see a solicitor!
No, if you read it again Clause 5 is one of the ‘following clauses’ that are disregarded if Clause 3 is fulfilled (stepmother inherits all after 30 days).
MadeForThis · 19/08/2021 19:58

Clause 5 only applies if the wife dies within 30 days.
It all goes to his wife.

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