Conflict of interest in will?

[Seashells100]

MIL died a few months ago, leaving her brother and sister (Claire) as executors of the will. DH, who was very close to his Mum, has found them to be very money orientated and difficult to deal with, which is another story. We organised the whole funeral and Claire was upset we spent money on flowers, saying it was a waste.

They have been evasive about the contents of the will, but came and cleared MIL house without involving DH or his sister. DH was upset as he was hoping for a particular photo, and some of our items which were in the house. He was unable to collect them previously as he was told that nothing can be removed until after probate and also MIL sister had taken our house key so had no way of getting in anyway.

The will was finally read, and a substantial amount is going to Claire’s son. My husband is extremely upset given that Claire’s son never saw his mother.

We have been looking online and are unable to find any clear advice, but Claire wrote the will for MIL, acting as her financial advisor. Is there a conflict of interest here given her son will benefit?

Not only is DH bereft after losing his DM, he feels rejected too. I suppose it also makes sense now as to why Claire has been so difficult to communicate with as she knew this information.

TIA

Who witnessed the will?

Is there an earlier will your MIL wrote? That could be used to challenge the current will. You can try arguing current will written under influence of sister. Were there any questions regarding MIL capacity towards the end?

The idea that your MIL would leave a sizeable amount to her nephew, taking away from her own children is definitely questionable and worth getting to the bottom of.

I am not professionally in law myself by the way.

Geez. You need legal advice from a solicitor sharpish.

This sounds extremely dodgy to me, and the MIL could have been coerced into signing this will.

Thank you for your replies.

DH was told the contents of the will over the phone, he’s not seen a copy to know who the witnesses are, although he is chasing this. The will was stored at Claire’s office.

Some questions in regards to capacity at the end. Although I think the will was 10 years old.

Extremely odd that a nephew benefits when there are actual children unless there has been a massive falling out. Op I would take advice here promptly. You need a contentious probate solicitor.

Ask to see a certified copy of the will itself.

I would not be satisfied being told over the phone its contents. How do you know MIL siblings are actually the executors?

Claire sounds as if she has been very clever getting this will written 10 years before death. That may add to its credibility unfortunately.

Definitely get proper legal advice.

I am sorry for your husband and his sister.

That sounds strange - first of all it would usually be adult children who would be the executor & it's unusual for the children to not see a physical copy of the will. You can go online & view it I believe if you pay a small admin fee. She sounds awful not allowing the children to go & collect anything they might like from their Mum's house (as you say photos & other random stuff which may not seem important to her).

Did the nephew ever visit MIL? Are there not any grandchildren?

No falling out. MIL lived around the corner from us, we were in constant contact and did everything for her as she became unwell.

Claire’s son was her godson, but hadn’t seen her for years. MIL would send him a card and money on his birthday but otherwise they weren’t in contact.

That sounds dodgy then. I could understand her leaving a token amount like £2k but it sounds like it's more & also sounds like her sister was being tight with money for the funeral. I honestly don't understand people who behave this way. How much is the nephew supposed to be getting?

I don’t think it’s that unusual that someone would include their nephew/godson in their will, especially a specific item or small sum if they were close, but it would be unusual for it to take significantly away from their own children. Especially if the nephew has his own parents to inherit from.

Whether anything illegal or immoral has occurred with the sister would probably be difficult to prove. The will should’ve been witnessed by someone independent, and if MIL was sound of mind 10 years ago then I think it would be hard to argue she was coerced by her sister to leave money to her nephew.

How much are we talking about here? Seems like the damage is done, but it would cost a lot to get this looked at, and might not be worth it financially.

So her sister was responsible for writing out the will which left an awful lot to her own son? You need a really good lawyer very fast.

@Seashells100 even though it was 10 years ago, why was it kept in claire's office? how do you know it wasnt only written last month but the date of 10 years ago falsely written? was will registered 10 years ago or at all even?? is claire a solicitor??? have you dh and his sis benefitted at all??? i would really be involving a solicitor her because this sounds really iffy!!

The estate might be 500k, possibly more. As far as we know it’s 25% to DH, 25% to DHs sister, 25% to Claire’s son and then the rest to be split between any grandchildren. Since the will was written there are now 3 grandchildren aged 2-7. There are lots of cousins (10 I think, but I think Claire’s son is the only godchild).

Yes @healthybychristmas she wrote the will as part of her role as a financial advisor. We can’t find anywhere is a financial advisor can legally write a will for a family member, and then benefit from the will.

Claire is DHs godmother, I very much doubt she will be leaving 25% of her wealth to him!

The damage is absolutely already done.

@allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld the sister is a financial advisor and apparently as part of her service she offers will writing. She oversaw the writing of MIL will and then stored it in her office. I have no idea why it was kept there either.

DH has tried to call and email to request a copy but is being met with radio silence. It was awful enough losing MIL without all this now.

God I am angry on your behalf. An equal share to the nephew as to her own children is horrendous.

See a probate solicitor.

That's a substantial amount to leave to a Godson/nephew! Definitely worth querying. I'm surprised that Claire was appointed executor whilst assisting with writing and also storing the will. Bearing in mind her son now stands to gain over £100k! Does MIL brother not have any children?

And nothing to MIL brother? So her sisters family get half of the estate between them? That sounds dodgy, I'd get advice from a solicitor asap

Claire has 2 children, but only 1 mentioned in the will. MIL brother also has 2 children. MIL also had other siblings with children, she’s from a huge family.

MIL brother apparently knows nothing about the will, does not know why he’s been appointed as an executor and wants nothing more to do with it. He told DH and his brother not to contact Claire again as she’s now on the verge of a breakdown from all the stress.

@Seashells100 sorry but I would not care in claire is on the verge of a nervous breakdown!! it looks pretty clear that your mil was coerced at the very least to write this sort of will. I have never heard of a financial advisor doing will writing! solicitors usually do this!! your hubby definitely needs a solicitor to take this further so should contact one tomorrow morning! your solicitor NEEDS to know who witnessed this will!

Contest the will on the basis it wasn’t written by a probate solicitor and stored appropriately. I wouldn’t give two shits about Claire’s nervous breakdown.

If the MIL therefore died intestate because the dodgy will doesn’t stand, it may go to just her children. But again I am not legal not a probate solicitor, but you definitely need real advice.

@Seashells100 I have found this : AI Overview
Learn more…Opens in new tab

No, a person who advises a client cannot be a close member of their family because it can create a conflict of interest. Here are some reasons why:

Conflict of interest
Solicitors are prohibited from acting for a client if there is a conflict of interest or a significant risk of one. A personal relationship with a party involved in the matter, such as a family member, is considered a conflict of interest.

Liability
Giving legal advice to someone other than your client can put you at risk of liability.

Client care
Becoming too close to a client can cause problems for the lawyer and their firm.

Capacity assessment
The presence of relatives during a capacity assessment can make it difficult for the lawyer to accurately assess the client's ability to make decision

NOTE THE FIRST SENTENCE

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Second, my dh is an IFA and used to write wills for clients. In this situation he absolutely would not write the will; he would get another advisor/solicitor to.

You don't need any extra qualifications to write wills, but he did have extra professional insurance in case of any problems. Does Claire have this?

Most IFAs work for a network, eg Openwork, Fairstone. They would NOT accept an IFA doing this for a family member. For transparency, and to ensure that they cover their backs in the event of a query/complaint, the will should be written by someone unconnected.

Dh was also not allowed to be executor for any wills he wrote.

It sounds as if Claire has broken rules around ethics, and possible some company rules. She's behaving very badly now too.

Your first action should be to make a complaint to the network that Claire/her company belongs to. Say exactly what has happened. They will investigate.

I'm so sorry this is happening, and making a sad and stressful time so much worse.

Has Claire got financial problems? Does she have form for this sort of thing? If she's acting like this, I'd be concerned about how she's acting for other clients too.