Wills

[Ryeland]

I took my brothers will in the bank and they said it wasnt valid. It was signed witnessed and dated .anyone got any idea why it was refused

If you are your brother's executor and are trying to get access to your brother's bank account you need to get a grant of probate.

What did they say when you asked them why? More info needed as to context!

I didnt need probate .estate not big enough to need it .she said a professional should have signed as witness but when i checked anyone can witness it

You are right. As long as the witnesses were actually present when the Testator signs, abd are not themselves beneficiaries then the will is valid. Did you also have a copy of the death certificate, which most tire parties will require? I’d go back and speak to someone more senior.

Also assuming there were 2 witnesses!

That a professional should have signed as witness and anyone could have written the will but when i checked it says anyone can be a witness

Yes you are correct - as long as 2 witnesses actually saw the will being signed and they are not beneficiaries then the will is valid.

It was the bank manager i spoke to
Also i took in Death cetificate plus proof of id .She said she was sending it to the estate settlement unit and i would recieve a letter.

estate not big enough to need it

There is no limit below which probate is not needed. It is up to the bank and other asset holders to decide whether they are willing to allow you to deal with the estate without probate.

However, the bank manager was wrong. There is no need for a professional to write or sign the will.

Sorry for your loss

Yes both witnesses signed when he did

Thank you

She said as it was a hand written will it may be invalid as anyone could have wrote it out

Still wrong. It doesn't matter who wrote it. As long as it has been properly drafted and meets the legal requirements a hand written will is valid. As per my earlier answer, there is no need for a professional to write or sign the will.

I asked 3 probate services all said each bank has its own thresh hold and my brother was well below it .so it wasnt needed,now i have to wait for an answer ofg the estate settlemen unit to get back to me .

@Ryeland

I didnt need probate .estate not big enough to need it .she said a professional should have signed as witness but when i checked anyone can witness it

She's talking bollocks. I work in wills and probate. Anyone can witness it (as long as they're not a beneficiary or a family member). We had ours witnessed by our neighbour and her student daughter.

Its just so stressful .she said if not valid it will pass to his son who hasnt seen him for over 40 years and kept sending him upsetting text . He didnt want anything to go to him thats why im concerned about it

No-one on here can say for sure that the will is valid but the reasons the bank manager has given are wrong. A will can be handwritten. Anyone can witness it. There is no legal requirement for a professional to be involved at all.

It is not the bank's job to determine whether the will is valid. Your brother's son can challenge the validity of the will or lodge an Inheritance Act claim if he wants but the bank cannot tell you how the estate should be distributed.

If the bank has concerns about the will they are entitled to protect themselves by insisting that you get probate to prove you have the authority to deal with your brother's estate. But the bank manager should not have said that your brother's will is invalid. At a stressful time that was a very insensitive thing for her to say, quite apart from being completely wrong. You should complain.

Im not sure if she was questioning my brothers signiture but i have it on other things plus my name is on death certificate plus i was the one who sorted everything out ie,; hospice ,doc ,etc
The bank are sending all the paperwork to the estate settlement unit. With the hospice doc ,eg;, he always put me as next of kin but i have nothing on paper to support that only a had written letter saying i have his permission to have access to his information and to his correspondence.

Make a complaint. Banks can be shockingly incompetent when someone dies. I suspect it's a training issue and so complaining may help the next grieving person. As an aside, I suspect you would get a few hundred in compensation. I know that's not the point but if it starts costing them, change is more likely. Having said that, as a probate solicitor the worst organisation I ever dealt with was the company contracted by a local authority to provide meals on wheels... nearly 10 years later and I'm still annoyed

Im concerned if its invalid that i will have to go through probate .which i havent a clue about .i dont want to mess it up and not following my brothers wishes

Just to say again, it is not for the bank to decide whether the will is valid. All they can decide is whether to accept it as your authority to deal with your brother's estate. If they don't you will have to get probate. That might sound scary but all it really means is that you have proof that you are authorised to handle the estate. Whatever the bank decides makes absolutely no difference to how you distribute the estate. You must follow the will.

What proof would they ask for ?

If the bank aren't happy that the will gives you authority they would ask for the grant of probate. That is the document you receive when you apply for probate.

Surely as Executor you have to apply for probate though?