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.

You know a lot of perfectly normal people marry people from other countries.

Oh, yes, I think it is quite clear who you meant by “ theirs”!

I am not those other posters. I do not think you should marry if you or your own dc stand to lose out significantly in a split, or death in this case - either gender. Not without some legal advice and measures in place at least.

The posters re doing wife-work like having children and being a sahp, going part-time or other duties whilst being unmarried are largely correct though. But if a woman has significantly more assets and is in this situation, I would say maybe don’t marry.

Well maybe it will happen to you or your dc in the future and you will be pleased at being ripped off at the eleventh hour. I think a lot of womens worst nightmares is thinking they’ll die and it passes to dh due to tax breaks, all she worked for and all she inherited, and what does he go and do? This halfwit situation…prob not even planned but just down to senility or not thinking about it all in the excitement of a new bride. Funny how they need importing because women his own age over here are too old for him.

@coldcallerbaiter anyone of sound mind can change their will and leave it all to eg Macmillan nurses (esp if they are being treated for cancer). It’s not “ripping anyone off at the 11th hour” - it’s an individual’s free choice.

There is absolutely no indication that FIL was senile and it is decently likely that he could have met and married a 55 year old here, if he had wanted to do that.

Yes it does

How come she spoke enough English to form a relationship with FIL and to communicate with you when you welcomed her into the family, but now suddenly can’t speak to you any more without a translator?

Dealing with bureaucracy, law, and administration in a language and country that isn't your own is a lot harder and higher-stakes than talking to another human being. A lot of people who can get by day-to-day in another language would want or need interpretation and local help if they were dealing with death and legal processes abroad and in a language not their own.

If there's a possibility the marriage wasn't legal, persue that as she wouldn't be entitled to anything.

Otherwise, I don't think it will be worth challenging.

The whole system seems ridiculously open to abuse. I was executor for DH. who left everything to me. I'm sure no one could have checked his signature was genuine or that the witnesses even existed.

However, if anyone challenged it (as I'm sure wife would in their situation) surely a dale would come to light quite quickly.

Plus I certainly don't know anyone I could ask to be fake witnesses and I can't think of anyone I'd do it for.

Doesnt want to trip herself up with any words in print that could come back o bite her on the arse and stall the collection of her winnings. Amazing that she is so resourced to have professional support on speed-dial.

It sounds like he was perfectly young and well enough to know what he was doing, and as he was happy to provide funds for wife's property, maybe did intend for her to inherit.

That seems reasonable to me. What else do you want from her?

From someone who has been there - let it go. No good will come of throwing money at it. My Dad met a russian woman online - he'd had a lottery win that would have brought him comfort in his old age but nope, she cleaned the lot out over 3 years and when it ran out, she was long gone. She took jewellery that was his late partners (promised to me); took family heirlooms that were irreplaceable, and there was absolutely nothing Dad could do.

If your FIL wanted your family/your spouse to have money from his estate, he'd have made a will post marriage. If he didn't, you haven't got a leg to stand on. These were his choices. He was far from elderly, and made those choices with his own free will.

I'm not saying anything against your FIL op but in my experience with immigration (I worked there for several years) British men who married a wife from abroad knew exactly what they were getting and for how long. It was the British women that really believed the 20 year old Turkish waiter was the love of their life and were devastated when he pissed off 5 mins after being granted ILR.

But this does sound like a difficult situation. And worth checking the validity of the marriage but agree that challenging legally on any other basis doesn't seem sensible.

I would though go and get sentimental items and photos. Very unlikely new wife will ever have seen those and she obviously has no use for them.

She is refusing to talk to his family. With whom she has previously spent time. That is not bureaucracy.

Where is she “refusing”?

She’s not yet in the country, she doesn’t know what the procedures are with hospitals, chapels of rest etc here. She has asked that her SIL and OP text her before calling.

HTH.

At the moment, I can't answer you. Let me get to England first. Then I will contact you back. If you want to talk to me, please send a message. Because I can't communicate or talk back to you. And I want to communicate with you correctly. Sometimes it may take a long time. Because I have to send it to the interpreter to translate

HTH.

She will only speak through a translator now.

She's got to come to a foreign country, where she doesn't know the legal system or customs, to arrange her husband's funeral. I'd want an interpreter too.

Not to say to the son “I am so sorry your Dad died”! The family bit.

And he is the obvious person to help arrange it all!

“At the moment I can’t do x, let me get there first then message me about x” is not at all the same as refusing to do x!

Don’t be ludicrous, there is no indication from OP that this is the first message from the widow since the death of her husband.

And yes, no doubt the son will help, but the wife is next of kin and needs to get here first before arrangements can start.

@Ottobeak
Yeah I know. I was wrong . Sorry. But you're about the 8th person to tell me now.

@Jooleshop I would check with the firm of solicitors FIL used for his will that he didn't make a second one post marriage. Just in case he did.
Are you absolutely sure that the marriage is valid in the UK?
I would also take any sentimental family items of no value - photos and the like, historic bits and pieces that would have no meaning to new wife, plus if any personal items from your DH's mother (which were of course left to him by his mother), and anything that was your DH's from his youth and thus is still his that might still be in the house to yours for safekeeping. I would tell new wife that you have the old family photo album etc if asked. Chances are she won't.