To think XH has outdone himself

[BurnoutGP]

DD1 is 24 DD2 Is 18. The father is not a good man or father. DD1 is estranged through no fault of her own. Paternal grandfather died last year and DD2 was told all grandchildren were left 5K.
Few weeks ago a letter arrived for DD2 asking her to attend solicitor with proof of ID/address etc for inheritance. Nothing for DD1. She is currently travelling abroad so we assumed her father had said he didn't know where she was. She emailed the solicitors and got no response. Very upset thinking she had for some reason been left out the will (no reason she loved him and visiting him more than the other grandchildren including DD2). She requested a copy of the will online and it states 5k to all his grandchildren but not named by name.
I rung solicitors who confirmed that XH when asked for a list of his children did not identify her at all so they were unable to communicate with her until her identify was proved. I have since taken in her birth certificate.

They have been estranged for years since she was a teen. After years of letting her down and gaslighting she decided to leave it to him to make contact and he never did. This has affected her hugely. She is so upset about this.
I am sadly not surprised he is a spiteful abusive little man.
AUBU that this is pretty low even for him.

The ex’s actions constitute fraud whether or not he was the executor of the will. He made a false statement to obtain monetary benefit. That is the definition of fraud.

Hey technical IFA here. Your daughter is in a 'class' of beneficiaries so equally entitled legally to her grandfather's estate. I assume your ex is the executor? If so, and he is not acting as per the will he's in breach of his fiduciary duty and can be held liable legally. Write a formal letter, then instruct a solicitor if necessary

The solicitor should have done a family history search using a genealogy company to check that they had all beneficiaries and not relied on one person from the family stating who is entitled

Petty stalling tactic to cause upset. He knew she would find out through her sister so done it deliberately

Would solicitor accept an online call where dd could show her passport?

The solicitor does sound behind the times. The law firm I work for uses a company for ID checks and we frequently check people living abroad. A link is sent to them by email. Not sure how the proof of address would work but presumably there's a way.

I would view this as a positive. Theres nothing worse than having doubts about whether being no contact is the right choice, this solidifies her understanding of his personality and will hopefully avoid her being manipulated into being used by him as he ages and likely then tries to guilt trip her for support.

This

OMG 8 pages of correcting socks! 8 pages !!! She was NOT estranged from her grandfather. She IS IN THE WILL. She is entitled to the inheritance her grandfather left to her and wanted her to have. Her father is an arse. Try not to be one!