Can my brother contest Mum's will?

[Dogsmom]

Huge back story but I'll try to be brief.

My brother has been an alcoholic for years and lost everything, he lives on benefits in a flat which he admits is awful, rubbish several feet high, broken windows etc.

Due to some terrible behaviour from him we're now nc with him, we being me and Mum, Dad died 4 years ago.

After Dad died Mum panicked that if anything happened to her then 50% of her assets would go to my brother and he'd drink himself to death then it'd go to his 2 children who we haven't seen for 15 years.
She decided to write a will and leave it all in my name knowing it'd eventually pass to my 2 dd's which she was happy with, she told my brother and he was fine with the decision.

She's worried though that he'll try and contest it though, purely out of spite as things got very bad before we went nc with him, she's been told a few things (by friends not solicitors) that she should've left a token amount ie 1k to prove she considered him and that if he does contest he'll likely win.
She's even asked me not to tell him if she passes away but would I have to tell the solicitor about him when the will comes into effect?

He came into 65k last year when his ex sold their house which was in joint names and he'd blown the lot in a few months on alcohol and gambling and she's terrified he'll do the same with the money my Dad worked hard all his life for.

If you happen to live in Scotland, OP, there is a difference in the law regarding disinheriting your children. I believe it is more straightforward for the disinherited person to lay claim on some of the inheritance.

Yes, I would second the adding of a "deliberate exclusion" to the will if that's what your mum wants

We had a sad experience with my grandma. Her will said that a small amount was to be left to her 2 children- my mum and uncle- and the rest divided equally between all grandchildren. All the grandkids are adults. She went to visit my uncle along with her new-ish partner (widowed many years before) of a different religion and both were treated abominably by my cousins. After a month she returned home and wrote the lot of them out of the will.

When she passed away 5 years later they all contested it and won. The claim was that she'd not been of sound mind; despite only being diagnosed with dementia 6 months before her death. Unfortunately there's just me and my brother and six cousins. It was really sad and not what she'd have wanted, especially as me my mum and brother had nursed her at home prior to her death. We and her partner ended up with all her possessions because all the cousins wanted was the cash.

As well as the exclusion your DM might want to think about power of attorney. This ensures that should she lose capacity then someone she trusts is looking after her finances without them having to go through guardianship. I have this for my very fit parents and my DP and I have them for each other (though we're very belts and braces!).

Yes of course I am dogsmum after all it would never be an adults fault for abandoning their children or grandchildren.
Always everyone else's...

I've never said it wasn't my brother's fault, he's a waste of space and I'd never defend him, as for my parents I'm not repeating my earlier post, they've tried and they've been told no, yes it bloody hurt them but the eldest is now an adult and had chosen to remain nc.

If I wanted relationship advice I'd have posted in that section.

Notjessica that's a really sad situation and so frustrating, it makes you wonder why bother writing a will if they can be so easily ignored.

It is odd to write that you won't get any pleasure out of the inheritance. You'd be better getting your mother to donate it all to a charity of her choice then. Getting pleasure from money does not mean that you aren't devastated about the reason you've come into the money.
I think posters are assuming the reasons the other children don't want to know are related to life with the alcoholic father. This may not be the case, but it usually takes something significant to stop teenagers wanting to have anything to do with a present-giving relative ime.

It is, however, true that the OP was looking for legal rather than moral advice here.

We had a similar situation and my family member was advised by a solicitor to leave the estranged person a token amount. That way they could not say that they were left out completely and it was unreasonable, that if they had been in their right mind theyd never have ignored their family relationship etc etc etc.

Given the value of the estate the person was advised to leave 5k. She was a bit shocked it was so much but the solicitor said it had to be a proper amount to really be safe as the house/estate was worth about 250,000.

We handed over the cheque, got a signed receipt (and an earful of abuse) and never heard from them again.

Definitely worth it for the peace of mind.

Thanks Elspeth, it's helpful to hear from someone who has been in a similar situation.

Crocodile, we have no idea why the teenagers don't want contact with 'present giving relatives' and you can be sure my Mum has done nothing 'significant'.

As your brother is funded by benefits, how would he afford to contest the will, and if he won his case, surely his benefits would all stop, so what would he actually gain by contesting the will?

I agree that getting a solicitor to draw up the will to your DM's specifications without you there would help fend off any suggestion of undue influence from you.

NotJessica's grandma would have been more likely to have her will honoured if there had been testimony from a solicitor who'd seen her face to face (assuming there wasn't but it sounded as if it was a homemade amendment).

He'd get it done no win no fee presumably if he had a half-decent case.

If he won, he would then have to pay his own costs, and possibly the other side's costs, and also his benefits would stop, unlikely to put himself through all that I would have thought.

I doubt he'll be sober long enough to contest it, he's not a functioning alcoholic, he's at the stage where he has blood coming from both ends, his teeth have rotted away and he's all bloated but he's been at this level for about 3 years now, on one hand I hate him for the years of hell he's put the family through but on the other I'm heartbroken to see what he's done to himself.
I'll show Mum the thread tomorrow and she can decide what she wants to do.

Regarding his benefits I presume he wouldn't tell them if he won, he didn't tell them about the 65k he had and blew last year.

There was an interesting case a couple of years ago where a mother cut out her daughter. She contested and won a decent amount (10% of estate) but then appealed for more and won. It eventually went to the Supreme Court where the extra was removed and she just got the 10% "structured in a way as to not affect her benefits" whatever that means.

Here's a BBC link

I suspect your mum should leave a token amount and clear instructions as to why it is so low. But if your brother can find a lawyer who thinks he has a case and is willing to risk no win, no fee then you can't really stop him.

My single, childless uncle died recently. For years he told my DM, his only sister his will specified she would get half, me and my sister a quarter each.

He never bothered with his only 2 nieces for years and if we saw him out and about and approached him his attitude left us cold. Our DM tried to keep in touch and visited occasionally but when your brother says to you "xx (name) isn't it? You wonder why you bother. He did not have dementia just a stuck up, snooty demeanour.

A distant cousin started looking after him in his advancing years and our Uncle was admitted to hospital, our DM visiting with clean pyjamas etc. He passed away. He had changed his will in favour of the cousin. Our DM didn't contest it. There was no token gift, no explanation why but what really irks is that we were not given the opportunity of viewing photographs and cine film he took of us as children and no old photos or keepsakes of his parents, our Grandparents who died 35 years ago.

Your DM can leave what she has to who she wants.

I think being absent is a pretty significant thing in itself dogsmum Its not about cards its about being there, But as you say, You don't care about the relationship its all about the money side of things and making sure they don't benefit, so I'll bow out now.

Seriously Lottie you're being downright rude now and making things up that have never been said, we couldn't be there because his ex wouldn't let us, there were court cases and access that she never upheld, do you suggest we force ourselves in and sit in the sofa??? You have no idea of the hurt over the years so please do bow out and have a good look at yourself, you clearly get pleasure from sniping and making up total untruths about people you've never met.
It's not about money, I'm financially stable and even if I wasn't I'd never dream of relying on an inheritance it's about carrying out Mum's wishes, I'm getting sick of justifying myself to you.

Troys that's so sad, like you say it's the mementos not the cash that's significant, my Mum was in a similar position, her Dad died when she was 19 and her Mum went on to marry another man who moved into her family home that'd been bought by her Dad, her Mum made a will leaving it to Mum and my Aunt and that her new husband could live in it until he died, however he contested it and they lost, he wouldn't even let them have any belongings, precious things like they're Dad's snooker trophies and childhood photos were all got rid of.

It does sound very likely that your brother may predecease your mother, unless he is able to get help to stop drinking and even then he'll have done a lot of damage already.
I do still feel sorry for the gcs who seem to be stuck between an alcoholic father and a mother who didn't keep up access visits - they didn't choose this situation. I suppose I think love from grandparents should also be unconditional. Your brother isn't being left out of the will because your mother doesn't love him, she doesn't want him to kill himself. The same doesn't apply to the gcs though.

What have I made up?
You said that you wouldn't even know them if they walked down the street? If you would have tried with court cases surely you would know what they looked like?
I'm only going by what you are saying dogsmum.

I do understand your point crocodile, it's something that her and Dad talked about a lot while he was alive, after many heartbreaking knock backs they decided to wait until the kids were old enough to make up their own minds, as I said the eldest is 18 and has been asked and said no, the same will apply when the youngest turns 18.
They have been told the door will always be open.

At the time she made the will and told my brother it was made clear that she'd gladly rewrite it if he got sober, she'd love nothing more than to see him how he used to be and to maybe meet someone and settle down but sadly it'll never happen, he's had rehab, counselling and many scary 999 hospital trips but nothing stops him, our final hope was last year when he had the 65k, we thought maybe he'd sort his flat and try to have a fresh start but as I said he just blew the lot in a few months, Mom's terrified he'd do the same with her money which wouldn't be as much as 65k.

RNBrie, I remember that case and it's one Mum mentions, there was another where a lady left land to the RSPB saying it was never to be sold or developed and was for the birds however they went ahead and sold it for housing.

Is this a real risk then, contesting a will? I only ask as mother in law has deliberately left her estate to my husband (in a will) and his family arent very nice. With this be a real risk when the time comes even if she's clearly stated her wishes?

Lottie, they weren't at the court cases!!!

Looney, sadly seems to be quite common.

I didn't say they were? But surely you would know what they looked like if your family had tried and taken a real interest?? You said the oldest didn't want any contact so surely you would have spoken to them?
I'm sorry you are finding me calling you out on it annoying but I just have strong morals when it comes to children and being part of a family. If my son was a shit parent I would do my upmost to make sure those kids were taken care of in every way possible and if I couldn't I certainly wouldn't leave them out of my will. Knowing them or not. They would be my grandchildren they would always have a place with me, In this particular case with their father letting them down so significantly with his alcohol abuse I think would make me want to try even harder.
But that is just me, Everyone has different degrees of loyalty, morals and care.

It wouldn't suit you for your mother to leave the money to the other grandchildren would it? Sounds about right.