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

@Seashells100 Regarding the cost of legal advice, check you home insurance. You might have legal cover.

Also, some solicitors offer conditional fee agreements. See here https://www.wrighthassall.co.uk/expertise/funding-contentious-probate-disputes

I don’t deal with contentious probate cases but, on the face of it, it seems like there might be avenues to explore here. Good luck.

*your

Could be potentially a criminal matter ie obtaining her signature by deception, under duress and/or fraudulently? Does need investigating. You might want to hire a solicitor who can get the ball rolling for you to contest the will.

So he knows nothing but tells the family not to contact poor Claire because she will have a breakdown. If he knows nothing how does he know about Claire's mental state?

Yeah I bet she’s “stressed”!

Being a professional who has used her position to scam out her extended family who are now cottoning onto the fact must be a pretty “stressful” position to be in…my heart bleeds for her - NOT!

@Seashells100 once you have gone through probate the Will becomes a public document. Also, who witnessed it? Witnesses cannot benefit.

@LadyGabriella That is law about the will. The executors can decide to share it or not. After probate it’s available.

Also the other Executor should not relinquish his role. Thats foolish in the circumstances. However someone not mentioned in a will doesn’t have to see it before probate either.

So weird auntie doesn’t want you to see will. I realise she doesn’t need to legally, but…. Why?

If and when you do see the will, I’d be double checking my mil signature to make sure auntie hasn’t forged the will and pretended it was all done and dusted ten years ago.

it just doesn’t add up. Why be so obtuse? Tied in with her taking the keys for mil house and not allowing access for the children of the deceased. no wonder you are suspicious.

There might have even been an earlier will in the house, that Claire searched for and removed from the property.

Do you mean later? An earlier will would be invalidated by the later one.

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.

She sounds like a nightmare. Who behaves like this? She is definitely trying to hide something.

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.

You've had a lot of very good advice here, @Seashells100

If you do decide to take this further please make sure you tell whoever you refer this to about his aunt and uncle being money orientated.

Out of curiosity, how old was your MIL when she died, how old is the sister?

Also, at what point did they tell you you couldn't go into the house? Did your husband stand up to them at that point?

Claire is acting very strangely but unfortunately with her being executor there's not much more you can do at this stage.
There's a clear conflict of interest but if the will is valid then it's valid.
I'd suggest you check very carefully the details of the will and also how the estate is valued and distributed. Your DH can also apply to have Claire removed as executor given the circumstances

So the will was drawn up by a company where both one of the executors and a major beneficiary work? I think their regulator would want to know about that. I wonder if Claire's stress now is trying to cover up what her son has done.

Anyway, it sounds like you have a way forward @Seashells100 , hope you are able to reach a resolution.

No I meant earlier. Especially if the later will is being contested and doesn’t stand.

OP it's not difficult to get someone removed as executor. A friend of mine was joint-executor for her husband's estate, along with her stepdaughter. The stepdaughter immediately put in an application to have my friend removed, and the judge said, 'The priority is administering the estate, and the fact you've brought this action means the relationship between you is contentious, so I can remove one of you or both of you.' and that was it, my friend was removed. The judge even said she hadn't done anything wrong.

Although removal and contesting the will are separate issues, if she gets removed because of her shady shit with the will, it strengthens a case for contesting. Probate cases are complex because you have to interpret the deceased's 'intentions'. From what you've said Claire has exerted significant undue influence and was not impartial.

I’d be really upset about the house having been cleared as well and sentimental stuff gone. Surely if your Dh is a 25% beneficiary then he was entitled to some of the house contents?

I agree, not necessarily with the percentage as such, but surely he and other interested family members could have been involved in the clearing out process.

I'm struggling to understand how Aunt was able to prevent your husband gaining access to the house. There is absolutely no way I'd let another relative prevent me entering my parent's home, unless, of course, there is some huge back story here?

I don't think it's unusual for executors to ask people not to enter or remove things from the house/estate before it has been distributed in accordance with the will. It's fairly common for certain items of jewellery etc to go "missing" after someone dies because various family members raid the home!

Totally out of order to clear the house without inviting all the family over first though.

Excellent advice from both the above posters In my opinion.
Good luck.

Just really bizarre for MIL to defer to her siblings rather than her adult children who she was apparently close to. I know not all families are open and transparent or good at discussing arrangements around death but I don’t get restricting your children’s knowledge and anccess unless there’s some back story.