Solicitor completely effed up!

[JessicaRabbit23]

Can anybody let me know if this is ok to send to a solicitor for a complaint? Am I being unreasonable?
thanks

Dear [Solicitor’s Name or Firm],

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding serious errors during the probate process of [Deceased’s Name]. Two wills were provided to your firm: a revoked will and the most recent valid will. Despite clear communication, the revoked will was initially sent to probate, delaying the process by several months. While I was understanding, the situation escalated when HMRC granted probate, but then uploaded the revoked will to the public registry. This has resulted in the previous beneficiary being aware of their inclusion in a superseded will, creating significant concern.

Although I contacted your office immediately upon discovering this error, and you acted swiftly to correct it, the fact remains that this mistake has jeopardized the integrity of the probate process and caused undue stress. Given these circumstances, I request that your firm cover any legal costs I now incur due to potential contestation of the will. I would also like a written clarification confirming whether this incident constitutes legal malpractice or gross misconduct. Should I not receive satisfactory resolution, I will have no choice but to escalate this matter.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]

could you ask the Law Society?

Does the later will specifically revoke the previous one? You need to go through the firm’s complaints process (address to the partner/s) before the Law Society. Head it Complaint re. Will of x and set a timeframe for response.

OP, here's my advice:

Forget about the solicitors etc.

Write back to the other woman and say "I'm sorry that the error over the will publishing caused you upset. Dad rewrote his will in 2017 and that's the one that was legally in place when he died, which left everything to me. I completely understand that it's upsetting to have seen that he had previously included you in his will, but then changed that, but everything to do with his will has been handled legally and properly."

If you like you could offer her a keepsake of some kind that you wouldn't mind her having, if you think she would like something to revenge him by.

Either way I would finish with "I know dad cared for you and that you will have some lovely memories to remember him by. I wish you all the best for the future"

And then if she continues to go on, ignore her.

If you're writing to a firm, it should be:
Dear Sirs

RE: WILLS OF ...

Yours faithfully

There does seem to be major screw up. Especially if it's managed to go through probate. I would suggest in your letter that they need to pro bono sort this mess out including putting the correct Will through probate.

Final paragraph is too person focused and is missing important modal verbs...

As your Firm has created this error, I believe that your firm is liable to cover any legal costs now incurred from potential contestation of the Will, for the withdrawal of the incorrect Will from Probate and for the submission of the correct Will to Probate. I require written clarification confirming whether this incident constitutes legal malpractice or gross misconduct, or not and expect a full refund for any costs already incurred from this incident. Should I not receive satisfactory resolution, I will have no choice but to escalate this matter to the Law Society.

It matters because AI isn't intelligent and doesn't have an understanding of the relevant law, hence it makes errors. AI is simply an internet scraping tool which then puts words together in a way that it has been coded to believe a human might.

It's entirely the wrong tool for the job.

Don’t send the letter. You don’t have any clear purpose for it.

The solicitors will have to deal with the loon. It sounds like they already are trying to. You’ve done your part.

The situation is uncomfortable, but not actually worrying. She doesn’t have a case.

If the person left out of the will has a problem it doesn't mean you would be needing to pay for legal fees? And you can't ask a law firm to pay for something that hasn't and may not happen.

It's fair enough to be upset about it but I'd put it down to your own error partly in sending the old will as much as the error of someone else sending it on in error.

If they win though, the judge may well decide their costs should be paid by the estate, so everyone loses a chunk of money.

Surely you wouldn’t complain to the solicitor, if you think malpractice has occurred, you would report to the Law Society. Assuming you are a UK poster.

It sounds like it’s the probate registry’s mistake because even if the solicitor sent in the wrong will the date wouldn’t match the Legal Statement so they should never have uploaded the old will. The other woman has 6 months from the date the Grant of Probate was issued so just hold on to the money for six months if you think she might make a claim (which she won’t succeed with anyway), but I don’t think it’s really the solicitors fault and there’s no point asking them to cover expenses until you know what expenses there are.

Why did you send the revoked will in the first place?

Why does it matter that a previous beneficiary has found out they are in both wills? Or have you not understood what superseded means?

They are not in both wills, have you read the thread.

I missed out the word not.

Came back to this thread to say @JessicaRabbit23 I am sorry for your loss, I should have said that sooner. And you've since answered all the questions that people have posed, so thank you for doing that to help us understand better.

As others have said, contests to wills are so very, very rarely successful. Rather than sending that original letter to your solicitor, send one advising them solely of the fact that someone is threatening action and that you will forward them any correspondence you receive.

Then send a letter to the offender and state that their continual correspondence is causing you distress and that you will refer them to your solicitor from now on and not engage with them. And maybe remind them that persistent harassment is illegal and send them this link! https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/resources/common-offences/harassment-and-stalking/

So from your later posts, it transpires there were 2 beneficiaries in the original will, you and one other person.

In the new will, you get everything.

You don't indicate who this person is, but in any event, this person
may contest anyway, regardless of the error. A judge would consider whether their claim was legitimate or not, and may want to explore how and/or why the will was changed, whilst assessing such a claim. A can of worms may or may not have been opened by the mistake, regardless, if the person feels they have a right to object they are entitled to do so.

I would ask citizens advice before doing anything. They are very informative and helpful. You can also write to the law society.

Yes it says all previous wills
revoked

Sorry not of this makes sense. If you have a problem with your Solicitor. I would contact the Law Society for advice.

She knew from the start it was all
left to me. She clearly didn’t believe me. I told her face to face about a keep sake (day after death) because she was asking about his will. The fact she’s been digging and digging the whole time making it known (sending me photos of deceased house on Rightmove) and I found out she spoke about my dads will at his funeral this made me VERY uneasy and I felt like she was only after one thing so now I’m reluctant to give anything or even speak about it especially in writing. She is
not a nice person & ordeal shows. There was a reason he changed the will
so many years ago and I think it’s because he knew deep down. She must of said something unmasked.

@JessicaRabbit23 Ah I didn't know that background. In that case send her a final communication saying you are no longer willing to discuss this further and that you will not reply to any more messages. Then block her.

She's being ridiculous and extremely inconsiderate of your grieving.

The point is that the solicitor or someone did mess up. I have changed my will a couple of times for various reasons. I would hate to think that someone who had previously been on it would see an old will and wonder why I had changed my mind. You use solicitors for a reason.

Exactly. There are two separate issues, the solicitor’s error and potential for the other party to challenge the will which she may well have done that regardless of the error. Op can complain to the solicitor and distance from the other party, blocking communication if needs be. I don’t think expecting them to admit malpractice and cover potential future court costs is reasonable though.

It can happen. So it seems. I think she would have complained if she only saw the original will. She clearly never trusted what I said and has always been out for his money. The tone changed as soon as the mistake was rectified and she asked if she was still getting the keepsake I discussed with her. Lucky I never discussed in writing. All of this was discussed prior to the distress she has caused me and speaking about it at the funeral.

Did chat gpt write it? it seems so odd.