New bride from abroad and sadly Father In Law has died.

[Jooleshop]

My elderly, unwell widowed FIL met a lady on line and started a relationship. He married her about 6 months ago and she has been back to her home more than staying in the UK with her new husband.
Unfortunately my FIL passed away while his wife was away again.
Her British Citizenship has not yet been finalised and it seems they both lied on documents to say they have lived together for a year before they were married.
It seems that my FIL has taken equity out of the small bungalow to pay for many things abroad.
When my FIL needed his wife she was not there.
It now seems all she wanted was the money and not a real relationship with my FIL.

A year and a half ago my FIL discussed his will and his money would pass on to the grandchildren when he passed.
Now it seems the old will is void as he got married, so everything goes to his new wife, who is flying to the UK in a few days... Now her husband has passed.

Does anyone have a clue if we can contest the new wife? In hind sight she is not what she seemed at the time.
We don't have a lot of money and a nest egg for the boys would be wonderful!
It feels wrong that his wife left him when he was ill and he died alone...
Now she's coming to claim the house etc...

Any help greatly appreciated.

He is a working age man who had a significant online relationship with an only slightly younger woman that turned into a offline relationship. It doesn’t sound that weird or predatory. He was not elderly or cognitively impaired, and while he was unwell, if his own son hadn’t clocked how unwell he was then either he was deliberately concealing it or didn’t know himself.
It was up to him to draw up a new will after his marriage but it’s not something he prioritised. It’s possible that he changed his mind - given that he knew his wife was likely to outlive him, but more likely he just couldn’t be arsed (otherwise he would have redone his will properly). In no way is this his wife’s fault. I do think it’s unfair when people do this because it means their assets from their children’s other parent also get left to the new partner. I would be furious if I died and dh remarried and all my assets went to his second wife and my dc got nothing, but that’s beside the point - when you inherit from a spouse you can do what you like. If dh died and I remarried I would draw up a new will providing for both my new partner (who I assume I actually love) and my dc before the champagne is open.
tbh I think it’s pretty normal for people in mixed nationality relationships to flit back and forth between countries. Emigrating is a huge deal, especially with a language barrier. Releasing equity from a uk property to use for a Thai property suggests they intended to spend lots of time in Thailand, which is fairly standard for an older couple - particularly if the uk half of the couple isn’t working.
I think the only way you can get your mits on his house is if the marriage wasn’t legally recognised in the uk.

Yes it does.

I know it sounds wrong but in these cases I really do not see why the family don’t fake a Will after the marriage date, all you need is a template and witnesses you know to agree to it.

I sure it would cross most peoples minds if faced with this and who knows how many go ahead and do it, pretty hard to prove. Although I bet the woman would fake one too, so make the date a day before his death!!

This woman was only out for the money so why let her just have it. If she wants to fight it, she can run up her bills til she is broke.

People do. And then they go to prison.

https://www.the-inheritance-experts.co.uk/jail-time-for-son-in-law-forging-a-will/

Forging official legal documents takes significant skill and knowledge of the ways the forger can be caught out which most lay people don’t have.

Also, the wife wouldn’t be paying the costs - when the OP and her family lost the case (which they would) all costs would be awarded against her. The wife would get the full value of the estate and her lawyers (and the OP’s) would get pretty much everything the OP owned.

These marriages are a two-way deal, it's not really about blame or exploitation. Of course she married him for the money and the visa. Your FIL was an idiot if he didn't realise that. But equally he got a young wife to keep him company (in every sense). If this had played out she probably would have moved to the UK and adopted some kind of career/escort/companion role and looked after your father, and he would have got his side of the deal, fair enough. She got "lucky" in the sense that she hasn't had to fulfill that (although I guess she won't get citizenship now, I don't know how much that mattered to her).

You're being unreasonable to accuse her of being part of some organised con targeting vulnerable old men. This is a tale as old as time and your FIL wasn't some kind of naive innocent party here either, unless he literally didn't have capacity he must have known what the deal was. If he didn't he really was a fool.

Um. Quite apart from ethical considerations, I think most people would not advise organising a fraud dependent on a mass conspiracy. It’s got disaster written all over it.

@coldcallerbaiter you would advocate that several people commit fraud to steal money from the legitimate wife of a deceased relative?

@Lincoln24 the widow is 55, FIL was 65. So she was younger, but I wouldn’t say “young”

This

Get the old photos at the very least

@HelenDenver True. Still, I think the dynamic is the same regardless.

Why say this? She says quite clearly that she has been helped by a translator, which is fine, anyone is a similar position trying to negotiate unfamiliar systems and customs in a foreign country where their understanding of the language is limited, would do the same.

it now appears that the wife was not, as many have assumed and hinted, a young woman wheedling her way into an old man’s bank account via his bed, but an older woman who I imagine offered friendship and companionship to an lonely older man. I am finding it hard to find any compassion or grief for her fil ‘s death in the ops posts, only annoyance that her childrens expected nest egg might have gone. And the constant reiterations that “he died alone” seem very hollow when it is clear he had family in the UK who could support and comfort him.

I'm I would have a good look around fil's house before the arrival of the wife in case he has written a will which no one knows about which may include the grandchildren
Maybe there is a slight chance thst he's left a 'letter of wishes' after his wife left which leaves something to the GC. These letters are not legally binding but they can be a negotiating tool. If, for instance, he had a think after his wife left and left his estate to the family you could negotiate a half and half split if the wife thinks you are prepared to go to go to court about it. I know this scenario is highly unlikely but worth a good look around the house I think.

@viques eh?

It was the OP who described the text message as canny, and I was disagreeing with that. I also disagree with the characterisation of the widow by OP as someone in it for the con, given that FIL could well have lived many more years.

So not sure what your problem was with my post. I’ll leave it there.

Well the prisons are supposedly full ! Bit much to let out hardened crims and replace with op - but that’s modern day UK I suppose and all you need is a trace of the signature. The money was theirs until he married and I doubt he wanted this wife to have it over his gc. No I am not advising it, but sure it would cross many ppls minds and I doubt most get caught.
And this particular wife does not have a right to it. Bet deceased MIL and her family contributed to the inheritance too, these deathbed marriages are predatory. Funny she is on her way back now as fast as her legs can carry her.

Sorry Helen, have just read a couple of your other posts and realised that you and I have similar views on this! It was the word canny that did it.🙁 I hadn’t clocked it as coming from the OP.

Yes it does

Ah ok @viques :-)

The money was theirs until he married and I doubt he wanted this wife to have it over his gc.

Why do you think that @coldcallerbaiter ? He was 65 and there’s been no indication he was short of any marbles.

Not sure what the Thai marriage ceremony says but UK marriage has a “all my worldly goods I share with you” flavour. If he didn’t want his wife to have some/ all of his assets after marriage, he could have taken steps to stop this.

Correction. The money was HIS until he married, and after the marriage remained joint property with his wife. The money and property has never belonged to the OP, her partner or their children. They were mentioned in a previous will , but mention in a will is not ownership, or possession.

Did your FIL have a post mortem?

Oh give over!!

To anyone who is thinking of remarriage. You don’t have to wait until after the wedding to make a new will, you can make a new will beforehand provided it states it is made “in anticipation of marriage”

You knew what I meant by theirs. I do not need corrections.

He married and he shouldn’t have at his age in my opinion but that’s the deal with these set-ups. I doubt he wanted this wife to have it all.

"He married and he shouldn’t have at his age in my opinion but that’s the deal with these set-ups."

That's an interesting take on things. I have read numerous threads here where a woman has been living, unmarried, with a man in his house. The advice given is invariably to get married.

Why should the advice to a woman be to get married in those cases and then here you are saying that the man should avoid getting married?

It doesn’t actually sound as dodgy as it first seemed. He wasn’t that old or visibly sick (his own family weren’t aware of his being on his deathbed), and his wife wasn’t significantly younger. It sounds like they were applying for a visa so she could perhaps live in the U.K. more. She doesn’t sound to be blocking the family, she’s trying to understand the process in the U.K. and is speaking to the hospital etc re what to do. She is coming over to do what needs to be done legally, not just to grab the money. They could have had many years together at his age, and I think it’s quite normal that she’d want to keep a house in Thailand too. He may well have gone out with her too sometimes. And if he hasn’t made a will, it’s him who has messed up for the grandchildren. It’s sad, but I think it’s unfair to put all the blame on her.