Share of Estate if I'm 'not really a Smith child' ??

[medianewbie]

I was born in 1968 in a small English village. My parents were Mr & Mrs Smith. I had an older brother John Smith. I was sent to school as Sally Smith (names changed). Aged 16 my Mother claimed I was the result of an affair she'd had with Mr Brown who'd died when I was an infant. I'd been taken twice as a child to see 2 old ladies she now claimed were my relatives.
I applied for my Birth Cert which showed Mr Brown had signed as my Father. She had signed it as Mrs Brown, when she was in fact Mrs Smith.
I changed my name to Brown-Smith so I could get a passport & didn't upset anyone (it did upset everyone)

My Mother has now died. Intestate. She told me before she died that she wanted all 4 of her Grandchildren to be treated equally. There is no estate except for the House which Dad / Mr Smith still lives in. He & my Brother say it is a Smith House only. My children are being posted the 'pocket money' cheques my mother saved for them. (about £300 each?) The House, which Dad needs to live in, & which may well be needed for care fees in due course anyway, is worth around £400k. I was given some pics of 'my real dad's grave' & £700 in £10 notes in a carrier bag.

I appreciate it seems distasteful to ask whilst Dad's still here & living there, but do my kids have any claim on the estate the way my Mum had said, or is it hopeless because of the Birth Cert names (I was never adopted by Mr Smith, but I was legally Sally Smith till age 16). Also, my Brother is sueing the NHS re Mums death (possibly correctly). Presumably if he receives £ from this, Mr Smith / brother will inherit that too?
Since she died, I've been cut out of ALL arrangements. I mind, but i mind more for my kids - they are disabled, I'm now a single parent & I worry for them, as did my Mum (not enough to make a will tho).

Does anybody have any thoughts?

I don't think I could do that no, it would seem sneaky (& I suspect it's just the in the movies in terms of success)
Having been asked about this here tho,' it has made me think. I assumed as Mr Briwn signed my birth cert that that was 100% proof but my Mother did talk of both men turning up at the Hospital claiming to he the Father so i suppose its not 100% impossible. I just don't think anyone would help me find out

@medianewbie You need to do a search with the Land Registry to find out the type of tenure

www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

I'd also second advice to see a solicitor.

@CPL593H

OK. Did search.
Freehold. Both Registered owners.

Probate lawyer here (non contentious).

As your mother died intestate (no will) her estate will be divided in accordance with the intestacy rules. If you live in England/Wales that is.

The first 270k of her estate passes to her spouse (your step dad), all of her chattels (personal effects) and 50% of what's left also passes to your step dad. The remaining 50% after the above deductions passes to your mothers children (inc you) and if more than one, in equal shares.

Bear in mind how your mum and stepdad owned their property will be important. If it's held in both their names at land registry as joint tenants then the house will pass to the surviving owner. If they held as tenants in common your mothers share would pass via her will or as in this case by the intestacy rules. This is important as if the house was owned as joint tenants and it passes to your step dad then there is nothing else in the estate hit you to make a claim on (just like your brothers won't be able to inherit from your mother at this point in time). The issue is what happens on second death (your step dads death). Your brothers are correct that you wouldn't inherit if your step dad died intestate (died he have a will - of not and he has capacity he should get one). However, as a step child you may bring a claim against the estate if adequate provision is not made for you. There are some conditions that would need to be met which are too long winded to get into on here. Basically, you need to instruct a contentious probate solicitor either now if the house wasn't owned as joint tenants or when your stepfather dies.

If your mother does have an estate, As there was no Will, her grandchildren do not inherit. What your mother said during her lifetime holds no water, legally, as she did not record her wishes in a Will. However, if you inherit under the intestacy rules on her death you can enter into a Deed of Variation (if done within two years from your mothers death) to vary your statutory entitlement to the estate so it or part of it passes to your children (without it affecting your estates tax position).

Don't let your brothers bully you. Instruct a solicitor. You can find a local contentious probate lawyer by visiting the law society website or Google local firms with a good reputation (Ask around).

Good luck!!

@medianewbie just seen your update re the property.

I note both are stated to be the owners (on the proprietorship register section of the document) but does it have a paragraph below it that starts like this "no disposition by a sole proprietor...." those are the magic words to look for to see if a house is owned as tenants in common.

If it doesn't have these words the house was owned as joint tenants and passes absolutely to your step dad, as surviving owner.

If the later is the case and the house really is the only asset then you will not inherit anything. Sorry.

If your mother wanted children/grandchildren to inherit she would have needed to prepare a Will and sever the joint tenancy on the house. Spoken words of her wishes mean nothing now sadly.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Hi @legallemon. Thank you.
I checked - there is no para re 'no disposition by a sole proprietor' no.
If, when Dad dies, the house is still in the family, i expect my brother will move his adult daughter in (poss even before Dad dies, its being lined up so the house prob won't be sold anyway.

Would i have any claim as a step child if I was never formally adopted anyway?

Depends on your dads will. If he names you by person, ie. The money is left to Bob, Harry and Sally, then you will inherit. If he says , ‘my children’, could be wooley. You could challenge the will, claiming that he brought you up as his child.

You need proper professional legal advice.

As the mother was married to Mr Smith at the time possibly make Ms Smith Jones legally 'a child of the marriage'?

It's the basis on how my mother received widowed mother's benefits despite me not being her husband's child.

(The fact that she could well have been claiming fraudulently would not be a surprise to me, though).

@medianewbie you are most welcome.

In answer to your question it is as @Riverlee says.

Your step father needs a Will which expressly includes you or, you could potentially bring a claim against his estate (within six months from the date of the grant of probate in due course) as a child of the family if you do not feel adequate provision has been made for you. You need advice from a contentious probate solicitor. I am a non contentious version of the same.

Does your dad see you as his child? Did he know about the affair before you were told and chose to stay with your mum and raise you as his own?
If you have a father daughter relationship then could you talk to him about a will and your mother's wishes that you inherit something

@leglegallemon
@riverlee

Thank you both.

The whole thing is in bad taste atm.

Dad lives in the house. There is ONLY the house. It may well go on care fees. Or, he could leave it to, eg, a cat home.

BUT, when he dies if there is no will (& there won't be) I would consider bringing an action as 'a child of the marriage' yes. I actually had a horrible childhood, much more at her hands than his. Her leaving me in this position doesn't surprise me. But I never thought she'd do that to her own Grandchildren.

So, psychologically should I 'walk away'? Possibly but my kids will need help. And they are her Grandchildren.

I wonder if I should seek a quick 30m consultation with the correct lawyer now though, as, if there is Zero chance, I would put it from my mind.
I would qualify for legal aid.

Agree with legallemon. Just to add that an Inheritance Act claim is unlikely to succeed unless you are financially dependent on your stepfather or really struggling financially. You should take proper legal advice.

@MermaidSwimming
Yes. Dad told me that he'd wanted to formally adopt me as a child but Mum had said no (she spent years pining for the dead Mr Brown apparently). He wouldn't now though, I shouldn't think: My brother has a baby Grandson who will 'carry on the family name'. I'm so far out I'm not in the same solar system.
She was a very odd woman. When I got married I was 32. I didn't want to be 'given' by 1 man to another, I wanted to 'give myself'. Mum went absolutely loco about 'the insult to Dad / what would the neighbours think?' (it was 400m away, no neighbours). He walked me down the aisle. He wasn't fussed, just wanted me to he happy. He's now 88, only really semi-literate (left school at 14, would no more deal with a legal doc than fly, bless him!). My brother & SIL esp are moving in on him (dividing up Mums ashes according to their timetable, telling him he can 'have an attic room at theirs, so grandson can move in'). I suspect Mum knew all this.

I won't wade in on the main inheritance issue, but it's worth knowing that if your brother is bringing a negligence claim against the NHS for your mother's death, the lawsuit will be brought by him on behalf of your mother's estate. Not by him personally. Any settlement or Court-ordered payment that results will go to her estate and must be distributed in line with the terms of her Will. I'm afraid that financially, the claim may not be worth a great deal of money if your family was not financially dependent on your mother (much of the value of these kinds of claims are made up of loss of potential earnings). However, as a beneficiary of her Will you do have a legitimate interest in the outcome of that process.

Agree with others that you will benefit from formal legal advice. All the best OP, inheritance issues can make for a torrid time within family relationships and you've been put in a difficult, sensitive position.

Apologies OP, just realised that she passed intestate. Unfortunately, any financial benefit from the claim will be distributed according to the intestacy rules.

@prhprh47bridge
I am, or I'd walk away.
I live on Carer's allowance, topped up by Income support: I & kids have nothing.

I'll seek some legal advice at this point I think. The whole thing is hugely upsetting (apart from the stupid money but that also represents me / kids being 'cut out / not good enough' of course, so its not just about he £ really)

If she died intestate, then intestacy rules will apply. It isn't up to family members to decide. In any case, you are her biological daughter.

Even when someone dies intestate, the family members can decide to execute a deed of variation to change the way the estate is distributed if they don't want to simply follow intestacy rules.