How to see a copy of a Will

[HexBramble]

Am I able to apply for a copy of a deceased relatives Will? How would I go about doing that? Thanks.

Right. Well that makes sense now.
Of course the frustrating thing for me is how do I get a copy?

I'm afraid the only way is to ask the executor.

It's the executor that's being very uncommunicative and secretive. How on earth is this allowed to happen?

You need a solicitor. There is probably no other way around it. Is it that important to you? If yes, then contact a solicitor as soon as possible.

I've thought long and hard over this and yes, it is important. The relative that died in 2009 spoke to me shortly before his death. He wanted his wife to be taken care of, so I suppose he meant that everyone would automatically pass to her, but after his days, the remaining estate would go equally between 4 - the wife's 2 DC and his DC (it was a second marriage for them both). I'm pretty certain that the wife has already written her own Will - leaving everything to her own DC and ignoring the Step-Children. I can't ignore this - it's morally wrong. I dont know if this is legally wrong, but it feels like it should be.

Secondly, my elderly relative and I were really close. What with receiving something about a DoV then having it poo-pooed makes me think that again, a Will has been changed. I've signed nothing at all so I wonder whether my signature has been forged. It's awful to admit, but I'm suspicious of th next of kins motives.

it's been a shit couple of months, I must admit. Tonight, I've had a G&T and I'm rambling. If I were to contact a solicitor, the next of kin would be alerted? World War 3 would follow, I just know it.

If the house was held as joint tenants and all bank accounts were in joint names they would all have passed to his wife automatically without forming part of his estate. His estate may have been vanishingly small. His will is only relevant for those assets that formed part of his estate.

Also his wishes as to where his estate would go after his wife died are irrelevant unless his will only gave her a life interest. If the house was held as tenants in common a life interest would have allowed her to stay in the house and would have dictated where his share of the house went on her death. If the life interest applied to bank accounts in his name it would have allowed her to spend any income that was generated but not the capital.

If the will simply said that he wanted his estate to go to his wife and then anything left when she died was to go to their children that would have no effect. His wife's will would decide where the estate went on her death. His would be irrelevant.

And that is why you need a solicitor. Not necessarily to open up a can of worms, but to get proper, accurate information that might give you a different perspective.

You can't continue with the stress of thinking your relative's estate has been stolen. You must find out, if only to get confirmation that the next of kin is entitled to everything, as prh outlined.

prh and Blanche' thank you. Things are slowly making sense to me.

Can I ask you both about my elderly relative that recently died? Why should I have received a DoV notice? I accept that it was sent in error to me, but my question is why should my name have been connected to the deceased's by the bank?

I could only conjecture, and that would only add to your woes. Ask a professional so that you only get accurate answers.

Whoever is administering the estate presumably included your details on a list of beneficiaries who would be affected by the proposed change to the terms of the will. That could be a complete mistake (for example, they had your details on another list and passed the wrong list to the bank) or it could be that you are not a beneficiary but will become one under the DoV in which case your signature would not be needed.