Items in will sold

[gotthearse]

Hi. My late father had a joint will with my still alive stepmother. Several high value items of his were left to grandchildren in the will.

Stepmother has subsequently sold them without telling anyone. Can she do this?

Is there anything I can do, or do I have to suck it up? The 6 items ranged in value from 25k down to 2k (and were my father's life's work, but that's besides the point). Thanks.

Unless you have read the will, you cannot say that for certain. You are guessing. If the joint will specified that everything went to the surviving spouse, they did indeed belong to her and she could sell them if she wished.

They were not hers to sell, so that’s misappropriation.

If the will was drawn up as described verbally then these items were bequeathed to the grandchildren and she should not have sold them. If though the will stated that on her death they were to be passed on but she took possession of them in the interim then surely they were hers to sell. But definitely consult ideally the solicitor involved in drawing up the will

As with the previous posters saying similar, you are guessing. We don't know what this joint will says. If it says that all property passed to the surviving spouse with these items then passing to the children when the second spouse died, they were indeed hers to sell.

We can only go on what the OP tells us.

Indeed, but from her latest post it is clear she hasn't seen the will. We therefore don't know if what she is telling us accurately reflects the contents of the will.

Well if the items weren’t the property of the person who sold them that’s misappropriation in my opinion

That is correct. But the point is that we don't know who they belonged to. The will may have left them to the surviving spouse with them then passing to the children, in which case OP's stepmother owned these items following the death of her father and was able to sell them.

Mirror wills Jack leaves everything to Elsie, and Elsie leaves everything to Jack.

Jack predececes Elsie, everything goes to Elsie - and Elsie can then choose to leave or her stuff to the local cats home if she chooses/her children/whatever

If Elsie predeceases Jack, everthing of Elsies go to Jack, and Jack can then will what He wants to who HE wants.

If one or other of the wills contain other clauses ( I leave my Vintage Bentley to Gt Grandson James) they are NOT Mirror wills UNLESS the Bentley is mentioned in the second will