@notahappybunny7
I’m so very sorry about your mum and now you have to deal with this!
Do not discuss this issue of the Will with your father, but tell him that anything to do with how the Will left things, needs to go through solicitors.
Inheritance law in England means that your dad can indeed be cut out of your mother’s Will.
Her inheritance is not counted as inherited money/property doesn’t count as matrimonial assets and thus can be left to whomever she likes!
The Will should have been written in such a way that it doesn’t leave any wiggle room for a claim against the Estate.
Going to court will eat in to a lot of your inheritance!
Your father will have to prove that he contributed in some way to the house/marriage. This could be by proving he paid towards the bills/mortgage, or perhaps he was a house husband who was responsible for the running of the household, as when a wife would support her husband in other ways that aren’t financial, by allowing the spouse to work whilst taking care of all the home duties/children.
Everything you say about your father, you will have to prove, just as everything he says, he will have to prove.
It isn’t as cut and dried as I was married to OP’s mum so I want half of everything.
Law doesn’t work like that. It’s not necessarily about what’s fair, it’s about what’s legal, what legal precedents there are, what your mother’s wishes were.
Unfortunately, when husbands die and leave Wills like this, yes, wives can and do find themselves cut off with nothing.
Also, if your father never (legally) worked, he may have a claim towards your mother’s pension, so be aware of that. Unless your mother also put that in the Will.
A solicitor (preferably the one who drew up the Will), will not cost you an arm and a leg to go and see and get legal advice. It’s better to do this now so that you know where you stand, as it may well be that you can come to some agreement with your father rather than have a costly, and drawn out, legal battle.
Also, things like too many stairs and he’s aging, are nothing to with the Law or the Will. The judge isn’t going to make a decision predicated on the layout of the house, whether your father can afford to stay in the house, whether he can afford to pay the bills for the house, or anything else.
It may well be that your father just wants to continue living in the marital home, which wouldn’t be so unusual, rather than he wants the Will overturned (which is unlikely to happen, as Wills tend to be a person’s last wishes and judges are mindful of that and don’t tend to throw a Will out in favour of English intestate law).
It’s unusual that your mum didn’t allow him a tenant in common provision, which allows spouses to live in property until they die, but doesn't mean that the spouse inherits.
Ultimately, judges always try to take into account what the deceased person’s wishes were.