A question about Wills...

[rtrtrtr]

NC, obviously!

DH's mother died a few months ago. One of his sisters lived in their mother's house with her; his other sister is married with children. He isn't particularly close to his sisters, and especially not to the one who lived with their mum (the sisters aren't close, either).

Some time ago, MIL told DH that when she died, her house should be sold and her three children should each get an equal share of the proceeds. She said this was in her Will (drawn up by a solicitor). Her resident DD is the executor.

Five months later, DH still hasn't heard anything about the Will. He asked his exector-sister, and she just said she was too busy to discuss it. His other sister says she doesn't know anything about it.

Is there any way DH can find out what's in MIL's Will?

Not a legal expert but I am an executor for a relative’s will. In order to distribute the estate the executor has to apply for a grant of probate. The will is lodged with the probate office and then becomes a matter of public record, so your DH (or anyone) would be able to see it then.

I would guess that the problem here would be that his DSis is not likely to be wanting to speed things along given that if the provisions of the will are as he expects then she will effectively be made homeless. As an executor, however, she has a legal responsibility to ensure that the provisions of the will are implemented.

You can search to see if probate has been granted here: probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills

MrsF, that's what I also suspect is what's motivating SIL to take things slowly. We know probate hasn't been granted yet, as one thing SIL said was that probate involved lots of work, and she hasn't had time to do it yet.

Thank you for the link, Dinosaur - all helps to form a picture!

To be fair, it can take a good while to sort out a will, particularly if there are various assets and the estate is of a significant size. My relative’s will was fairly simple but it’s still taken over a year to sort out. I have, however, kept the beneficiaries informed as to how things are progressing as I wouldn’t want them to think I’ve pocketed the money! (not that they would think that, but I’d rather keep them in the loop).

What does your DH think of the provisions of the will? How will his sister manage if the house is to be sold?

Thanks, MrsF.

DH is, I think, mainly frustrated by the lack of information (he doesn't even know for certain that he will inherit anything at all). However, he could also do with the money, especially at the moment as he was made redundant due to Covid (though, obviously, won't try to make any kind of fuss if he wasn't included - he would just like to know). His executor-sister will be ok if everything is split three ways, as she also owns a house which she has been letting out. His other sister is keeping quiet, but she said at one point that she doesn't need the money, so she would be in no hurry to resolve anything.

If any tax is due on the estate (either Inheritance Tax or other forms of tax) then this does have to be dealt with within a certain time, so she couldn’t string it out for ever.

Has he actually asked his sister what is in the will? She may be “too busy to discuss it” but it’s a two minute job to email the basic provisions of the will. And maybe remind her that, as I mentioned earlier, the executor has a legal duty to ensure that the will is correctly administered.

Gathering all the information required to value the estate, work out any IHT due, pay it and apply for probate can take up a good lot of time. If the sister is very busy while her sibling has been made redundant, he could offer to do the work.

That might speed things up and let him know what is happening.