Cheated out of inheritance.

[Watzzap]

Sorry this might be quite long. My late dh, who passed away 10 months ago, had 1 sibling. Both he and sibling had POA for fil. I know fil did not have a Will. Fil was in a Care Home as could not manage at home. Prior to him going into Care my dh and I were first contacts for fil on Community Alarm System and visited him every day. Saying this to show we did help out and have had a lot of input with Fil. We also regularly visited fil in his Care Home.

Fil passed away 6 months ago. As my dh had also died, sil organised funeral and sorted out finances. I did not expect to receive anything from my fil’s estate, but I expected my dcs to receive their DF’s share. However, apparently fil had very little to leave, therefore my dc’s share was only £1k each! When I asked sil what had happened to the rest of fil’s money she said that was all that was left after funeral costs etc.! For background, Sil has solely dealt with fil’s finances for quite a few years, however both she and my dh were named on his main account as had joint POA, until my dh died. I also know sil has withdrawn and hid money in the past, so fil got his Care Home place paid for (needed to be less than £23250). She also took his car and gave it to her son. I also know that fil had numerous Life Insurances etc. My dh was very laid back and just let her get on with things and never said anything about how his ds dealt with fil’s finances.

Fil’s funeral costs would be around £3/4K. It now looks like she has kept all the money to herself from the account she (and my dh, prior to his death) was named on and paid all expenses from his other account, which was solely in his name. Even taking this into consideration, with his other insurances, there should have been a lot more than the £6k she says is all that was left!

Is there anything I can do? As I said, I do not want anything, but feel that my 3 dcs have been cheated out of their inheritance.

Thwrs ia some seriously bad advice on here..why comment on something you know f all about?

Really sorry for your losses @Watzzap

Not exactly sure of the legalities but it looks like the lack of Will means that sil is the one who inherits as your dh died before fil died. Obviously it may be worth checking with an expert though.

@Cocomarine

Top right hand corner, everyone.

Thanks Cocomarine and others, inheritance is different in Scotland than in England/Wales. My dcs are entitled to dh’s share of estate.

I've been on Mumsnet a few years now and am still surprised by the number of posters who confidently tell people what the law says about something - getting in completely wrong!

I'm not a lawyer but it's not difficult to find the legal position here.

What should be done about it I think depends on how much the OP thinks is missing from her father in law's estate. If I were her I would ask to see the details of the financial records the sister in law kept on behalf of her father using her POA and her records of his assets when he died and how they were distributed (including costs of funeral).

I suspect (but don't know) that the OP's husband would be considered to have accepted any dealings that took place during his lifetime. For example if his sister moved money from her father's account into her own, and he didn't challenge it at the time, it's probably too late now.

I would also ask to see the details of the various insurance policies. I would then consider taking legal advice if my requests were refused or if they revealed anything looking dodgy - unless the missing assets are only likely to be a few hundred in which it would be worth the hassle as it would all in legal fees.

@Watzzap
That is good news!

Sorry, and actually quite importantly:

1. Your children's entitlement to a portion of the estate should not be affected by the problems that could arise from the Deliberate Deprivation of Assets and your part (if any) in that. They are two separate issues.

Because you, DH and your children are all individually separate legal entities.

@Watzzap and what about the law of fraud with regards to care home fees? Is that different in Scotland too? 😉

Glory there is a lot of nonsense on here! It would really help if everyone who states what the law is could link to a reputable source showing the relevant law. It is noticeable that everyone who has done this has shown that the grandchildren are entitled to what would have been their parent's share. Noone who thinks otherwise has linked to anything reputable.

@Frogsandsheep

Really sorry for your losses *@Watzzap*

Not exactly sure of the legalities but it looks like the lack of Will means that sil is the one who inherits as your dh died before fil died. Obviously it may be worth checking with an expert though.

Or just reading the thread. At least you didn’t present your opinion as a fact, but really - even reading OP posts only reveals the rules.

@Watzzap I can't speak to legalities in the UK, but I'm the "child" in what you're experiencing.

My mum passed away before my gran, and my gran's power of attorney changed over to one of my aunts. Within the month, the will was changed to disinherit me (clause in place in original will if her children predeceased her), and the new will not revealed until my nan died a year later.

My aunt's actions tore the family apart with her other sister not speaking to her for years, and her relationship with her brothers falling apart.

I chose not to dispute the will, it wasn't the money which made me upset but a china set which my gran and I used to have afternoon tea with when I was little, and turned into G&Ts once I was old enough. Instead of coming to me it was sold. It wasn't even really good china but simply the memory.

Unfortunately there are people who will do anything to get as much as possible out of inheritance. For me, $50K AUD wasn't worth disputing through the courts. To be honest, this aunt had a terrible relationship with my gran and not that great a life. To this day she remains jealous of my mum, even though she is dead. So overall I feel like I've done much better with a loving relationship with my nan and an incredible relationship with my mum.

And 6 years later I'm still happy with my decision. Letting go was the best choice.

No, because this family has been cheating the system and hiding money so we could all pay for the care. And now are cheating each other, by the looks of it.

'What goes around comes around' comes to mind. If you knew about this and are only interested now because you want money for your children, then I have very little sympathy.

Just for clarity, in England and Wales:

The deceased is survived by children, but not by a spouse or civil partner
In England and Wales, when someone dies intestate with no surviving spouse or civil partner, but with surviving children or other descendants, the whole estate passes to the children in equal shares. In cases where a son or daughter has died, their share of the inheritance will be divided among their children.

This sets it out. Op's children inherit her husbands share. You need a solicitor.

www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/103535

@Cocomarine

So your late husband was complicit in fiddling the system re hiding assets and the care costs, and that’s now come back to bite his children?

My dh and I fell out over this many times. He refused to interfere in what his sister did. To be clear, he got none of the money sil siphoned off. She did offer him £1k at one stage, which I made him refuse as did not want him to be complicit in her activities.

Suppose I could always dob her in as I do have evidence (screenshots, copies of documents, bank statements which show money being transferred into her account etc.).

OP, there is such a lot of incorrect advice on here! Your DC should be entitled to their fathers share.

If a person does not have a will, then it follows the legislation set by Government,. It depends on each person individual situation and the amounts involved, but where there is no spouse, then the estate is divided between children, or grandchildren if the child is deceased, so your DC are entitled to the full share that their father would have had.

There is a proper procedure to follow, all assets should be valued and added to the pool (car etc, all savings, all cash in hand), and then the estate split accordingly.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/family/death-and-wills/after-death-dealing-with-an-estate/

Please get some proper advice on this, but unfortunately if money has been stashed away then you will probably never know or be able to claim. But certainly, the estate should have been added up and dealt with properly, so you could ask to see the paperwork for that.

I also know that fil had numerous Life Insurances etc.

I believe life insurance policies are different as they normally have named beneficiaries, they only go to the estate if there is no named beneficiary.

Sucks that FIL decided not to leave a will to help his grandchildren.

@Lockheart

If your FIL died intestate (without a will) then your SIL inherits everything outright - assuming FIL wasn't married / didn't have any more children etc.

No cheating here, she's entitled to all of it.

@Lockheart

That is incorrect. If the FIL died intestate and with no spouse, then the estate is divided amongst surviving children and descendants of any non surviving children. So yes, Op’s children should have inherited between them an equal share to their aunt (assuming that was the only other child).

There's no will your dc where lucky they got 1k it goes directly to the living child you have no basis to challenge this and it would come off abit grabby.

@Cocomarine

I don’t know why you’re picking on my post to criticise.
It’s one of the only posts that advised OP to speak to an expert and one of the only posts to acknowledge poor OP’s bereavement. FFS

@Cocomarine

Maybe snipe at all the compassion lacking arm chair solicitors on this thread instead!

@Bananarama21

There's no will your dc where lucky they got 1k it goes directly to the living child you have no basis to challenge this and it would come off abit grabby.

Wrong. The grandchildren would inherit their father's share of the estate.

@chesirecat99

I also know that fil had numerous Life Insurances etc.

I believe life insurance policies are different as they normally have named beneficiaries, they only go to the estate if there is no named beneficiary.

Named beneficiary was mil, who died several years ago. I have copies of 3 life insurances, but suspect there is at least 1 more. All life insurances that I know about still stated mil as the beneficiary when dh and sil were made POA.

Sorry if someone has already said this - but are you sure there is no will? It may be worth checking one was not registered

OP if you really were the silent protestor about the fraud and she also cheated your children out of money, then you need to report her for the deprivation of assets