Probate timings

[LindaLa]

I've been named in a will.
Apparently house is left to spouse for lifetime but is ultimately mine.

I want to see the will but I can't seem to get a copy.
I've tried the government website but it's not there.

I gave a feeling probate hasn't been granted or applied for.

It's been three years since they passed.

Is this the site you have tried?

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

For England& Wales , all wills will appear in the register here with the date of death and date of probate shown separately

and links to different arrangements for Scotland and NI

If they do not appear here , probate had not been granted. You can see from any excerpt that the delay for probate is very variable.

If they do not appear then your. EDT chance is to contact the next of kin, executors or lawyers if the deceased. All the best

Thanks for replying.

Yes that's where I tried.

Next of kin is his widow but she's unwell having long term inpatient rehab care and therefore uncontactable.
No solicitor is appointed on their side.
Executor has walked away as the widows issues are too much for them to deal with.

Not sure what I can do now.

Widow is a lot younger than me, so likely to outlive me!

Who told you you were named in the Will, can you contact them. Maybe there is no probate if the house automatically got passed to the surviving spouse. Is it that the house will become yours when the spouse dies, wouldn't that have to be in their Will maybe a solicitor can help you.

Have you tried speaking to the Probate Office to see if anyone applied for probate at all? May not as it does sound as if it would all go to the spouse normally.

Have you tried downloading the house details from the Land Registry to see if there has been a change of owner - obviously you haven't signed any forms by the sound of it, but you would be able to see who owns it now.

The executor can resign (was there only one, or was the wife also an executor), sorry for your loss OP - despite the young widow I'm getting the impression this was your parent.

@wigglypiggly

A mutual friend told me. They were there when widow read the will.

They've gone back to Australia now though.

You could apply to the probate office to execute the will/settle the estate.

Are you likely on the balance of probability to outlive the spouse?

@SassitudeandSparkle

Thanks. Not a parent, more estranged older relative.

Widow had a breakdown and is receiving inpatient treatment and will be for a long time.

They were both loners. They only married six months before he passed.

34 year age gap.

I'm surprised to be named as knew nothing of the wedding or even relationship.

I just want to sort it either way, write it off or claim, so I can sort my will!
Looks like I'll have to get the land registry details.

Thanks again

Not really much you can do until the widow dies as it's effectively "hers" as long as she lives. She won't have legal title to it so she won't be able to sell it and use the money for anything else. Assuming all the other assets passed to the widow upon his death (i.e. joint accounts etc), then it'll all be in limbo until you or her dies. What does the will say about who gets it when you die?

@FinallyHere

I may approach probate, as I said earlier I want to sort my will out.

It's likely she'll outlive me but I wonder about passing it over.

She's very ill, so I don't want to pressure her in any way.

So difficult and so sad.

@Kazzyhoward

From what I gather, will says house is widows for as long as she needs it.

Then it's mine.

That's all I know.

I've asked several people for a copy but no luck.

Can you not ask the named executor or your friend if they remember the name of the solicitors who prepared the will? Or can you not contact some local solicitors in his town whether they prepared the will?

As time passes, it'll get forgotten about and then the widow's next of kin may end up owning it through normal intestacy rules if the will can't be found or forgotten.

The probate/land registries won't know about the will until an executor applies for probate using it. There's no central database of wills. So it's in your interests to pursue this, and to do that, best bet is to find the solicitor who drafted the will - they may still hold the original. You may not want to (or be able to) do anything with it, but at least if you know where it is and what it says, you'll know where you stand.

It's exactly circumstances like this that leads to homes ending up derelict and forgotten when legal ownership is unknown.

@Kazzyhoward

That's what I don't want.

Upsets me too.

The executor has stepped away and wants nothing to do with it.
The will was drafted by a trainee solicitor.

The whole situation is just a clusterfuck.

I'll approach everyone I can next week and hope I can get a solution!

Had some great advice on here, thank you.