Finding a prior will?

[Previouswill]

Regular poster but NC for this. A close relative died earlier this year and I recently downloaded a copy of their will (I'm not in the UK). It differs substantially from what the person told me - over many years - that it would contain and it was made within the last 5 years, after the person had been diagnosed with dementia. Also it was written by a different legal firm to the one that the person had used all for many years. A few red flags are waving!

How would I got about finding the previous will (if one exists)? Do I need to employ a solicitor or can I contact the former 'family' solicitor and ask them?

Thanks.

In the UK this nost recent will is the one that applies.

Sorry.

In the UK the most recent will is the one that applies. Previous wills are not relevant.

Yes but if the person has dementia then are the capable of writing a will?

You could contact the solicitor who wrote the original will.

Yes, unfortunately the previous will is irrelevant. And the fact that someone has dementia doesn't automatically mean that they are not capable of making a will. I don't think that there is very much that you can do here to change the situation.

If you were to legally challenge the will for example by alleging coercion etc then you're chances of winning of very very slim unless you have rock solid evidence rather than circumstantial "red flags".

Plus the legal costs of such an action is likely to be more than the value of the estate, unless we are talking a million plus estate.

Sorry as Mosiac says the last will applies in England regardless.

@HollowTalk

Yes but if the person has dementia then are the capable of writing a will?

It depends on the degree of dementia. If a solicitor had any concerns they could get a declaration from the person's GP regarding the issue of 'sound mind'. The bar is not that high to prove 'sound mind'.

There's a company called Certainty who can do a search. They send out a scattergun email to all solicitors within an area and ask them to search. Perhaps you could ask them to ensure they approach the solicitors you know your relative used previously. Also you might not be able to obtain a copy anyway unless you were the executor.

But if probate had already been obtained using a more recent will I don't know if you can do much about it now.

Thanks all. I'm not interested in contesting the will, it's more out of interest as the actual will was so out of character. I've no doubt the person was...persuaded to skew it in a rather unpleasant way, but what's done is done.

If you can show undue influence that would be grounds to overturn the will. In that case the previous will would apply.

Plus the legal costs of such an action is likely to be more than the value of the estate, unless we are talking a million plus estate.

If it went to trial the costs could go over £100,000 but they are highly unlikely to get anywhere near £1M. Most claims are settled well before that, so costs would be in the region of £10,000 and could be less than £1,000.