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

I don't find it that shocking. If both Claire's children have been included, maybe indeed. But they are not. Some people, especially quite religious, do consider their Godchild as indeed another child.

The whole point of a will is that you get to do what you want for once. She didn't even elect your OH to be one of the executor which in itself is telling.

Maybe your OH felt more worthy of her money, but ultimately she might not have agreed for whichever reasons she had.

How do you know MIL wouldn’t have wanted to elect OPs husband as executor? Claire could have easily not explained what an executor is or just said it makes sense that she’s the executor.

We don’t know what’s happened here.

Is your DH's brother not inheriting at all? That sounds the strangest part to me.

I don’t think the DH has a brother, but a sister. It’s a bit confusing because of the different generations. We need a family tree.

The OP’s MIL has a sister (Claire) and a brother (as well as other siblings).

I agree with @vivainsomnia that as the nephew was also a godson that might change the relationship in MIL’s eyes, although it does seem odd to pass on such a significant portion of the estate, and especially if the relationship has not endured.

How do you know MIL wouldn’t have wanted to elect OPs husband as executor? Claire could have easily not explained what an executor is or just said it makes sense that she’s the executor
Of course that's a possibility but my point is that the one suggested is just very possible too and taking everything in consideration more likely especially since Claire is not the only executor.

MIL sister had taken our house key so had no way of getting in anyway
This doesn't make sense either. If some things in the house meant so much to him, why not go there before giving the key back.

There were 10 cousins, only the Godchild benefited. The Godchild siblings didn't. It sounds like the other executor's children didn't either. Surely if they thought Claire was in it, they would have questioned it on behalf of their kids. As would Claire's other child.

Goldson and his aunt might not have been in contact much recently, but maybe they were closed previously.

Because OP and husband didn’t expect Claire to do something like this. In their mind giving the key back to Claire didn’t register as being the last time they’d have access to the house. Why would anyone suspect that.

1. Lodge a caveat at the Probate Registry to prevent the issue of the Grant of Probate. www.gov.uk/stop-probate-application
2. Find and instruct a contentious probate solicitor ASAP.
3. Formal complaint to FCA in respect of IFA.

The drafting of MIL's Will also makes little sense from the perspective of IHT planning. If FIL died first and left everything to MIL then, in theory, MIL can leave £1 million (including Residence Nil Rate Band) with no IHT payable. Maybe OP knows the answer to this.

However if MIL was divorced (or was never married) then she can only leave £500k free of tax. This includes £175,000 Residence Nil Rate Band. This can only be claimed if she is leaving the family home to a direct descendant and obviously Claire's son is not included within that class. It just seems odd to me.

If I am drafting a Will I want to be 100% certain that the Will is IHT friendly. If a client is dead set on making gifts that might result in a liability to IHT then I will write to them in detail about this, to ensure that they understand the potential tax consequences.

It makes you wonder if there was either undue influence or want of knowledge and approval - in other words did MIL know and understand what the Will said? Or maybe Claire did not understand the potential tax consequences when the Will was drafted.

Your husband needs legal advice as soon as possible. If Claire is stressed then that is her problem.

It seems very wrong to me that Claire cleared the house without involving the adult children. That’s awful.

It seems generally a bit odd that it’s the siblings rather than the children who are the executors and the children are being pushed to one side when it comes to the disposal of their mother’s property and possessions, but families can be weird and there may be something about this particular family dynamic that explains it.

Of course she is. She's shitting bricks she'll be found out and imprisoned for fraud.

@cantthinkofausernametoadd where's the fraud?

Read the thread.

https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/SYSC/10.pdf

FCA handbook - Section on conflicts of interest

Good luck @Seashells100

i was joint executor of my mums will. At no time would I have locked her other children out her home. It’s actually unthinkable really. Very strange thing to do!….

we all spent time in her home “saying goodbye” in whatever way we wanted.

it’s also a huge job to empty a home. It was awful chucking stuff into a skip, but none of us felt able to fill our houses with mums items.

it took weeks/months and a million trips to charity shops.

why would your auntie have done that? Surely she would be wanting your DH to have a look through his mums things? This is just such a weird thing to do. And cruel!

I also gave everyone a copy of the will. I know that’s not a legal requirement, but it just seems the right thing to do.

has the house been sold yet?

Contesting a will is almost impossible.

So far, there is no evidence but a son who is pissed off that his mum gave as much to her godson as to him.

He won't be the first neither the last to be disappointed when reading the will of their parents.

You can download a copy of the will for a few £ Search probate records for documents and wills (England and Wales) - GOV.UK

What rubbish. Contesting a will is easily started by lodging an issue before probate is granted, as a previous poster suggested.

Stop giving bad advice.

Maybe it's the son that's a crook and she's covering. Clearing the house could have been to get rid of evidence of a different will.

I have worked in the regulated financial services industry for 40 years and in any scenario where the client is also a close relative this would be defined as a conflict of interest and acting as an executor would need to be referred to our risk management team.

She may have her "own" business but she will still be regulated by a larger firm such as St James Place or Quilter (there are loads more than these). If you look on her company website or letterhead it should specify who this is. This company will expect advisors to follow a certain code of conduct which is in line with FCA requirements so you would be able to formally report your concerns to them.

How ridiculous they won’t let you see the will

You’ve had some great advice!

Go and kick ass!

@linelgreen Claire runs the financial business with her DH and DS. What risk management team?
I’ve actually seen relatives come in and take over like this. Not as close as a sister either. DC are pushed to one side as the person with knowledge steps in and they organise everything and become indispensable. DC should wake up earlier and ask questions.

It’s ok for money to skip generations and leave out some. Claire seems to get nothing. However DC you would expect to so it’s odd to not leave something to all DC. However when DC are well set up, leaving money to grandchildren is a good thing to do. A nephew? Not so much. Why has the money skipped a generation and closer family been omitted? We removed siblings years ago but that’s because we have DC and their needs come first.

Has Claire and her DS lent the MIL money? Is this a repayment?

@Seashells100 this doesn't stop you complaining to her regulator.

The advice on this thread has been wonderful. Thank you so much. There is a lot to process at a very stressful time. We have found a solicitor and may look to go down this route if we can afford it.

Claire will not show DH the will until after probate has been done and has asked that neither her or her brother, the other executor are contacted again. My poor DH is in such a state. We also cannot view the will online until after probate.

Follow this persons advice. It’s a great post.

Claire is definitely in the wrong here, refusing to let DH see the will until probate granted?! What lunacy is that.

As above, lodge a caveat at the Probate Registry to prevent the issue of grant of probate. Do it asap. This will buy you some time to decide what to do next, and stops Claire’s family getting their hands on the inheritance then disappearing.

Thereafter you can decide what to do re probate solicitor. Also definitely put in a formal complaint to her regulatory body.

No way would I let this slide.