Asked to prove inheritance from 25 years ago

[AppleJuice26]

My Mum is buying a second home to be rented out. The money for the purchase is held in savings. She’s 81, and has built up the savings over her life and those that she inherited when my Dad died 26 years ago, as well as the sale of the family home 15 years ago. Whilst I understand that the solicitor must prove source of funds in line with money laundering legislation, we have been asked to prove that part of Mum’s wealth is due to inheritance 25 years ago. Is this right? And how could it be proved?

The will?

I thought that, but we’ve no idea where Mum would have put that since downsizing. We can look, but we’re due to complete next week.

Any copies of the will still in existance? Or letters relating to the sale of the house?
I can't believe the solicitor is going back that far. I'd have thought a couple of years of bank statements showing it has sat there for a long time would satisfy money laundering - or its a very long term game to clean some money!!!

Well that’s what I would have thought. And I’m curious to know if anyone knows how far back they are required to go. It would be a lot of stress for everyone to search for that paperwork at this stage.

You should be able to find a copy of the will via the probate office

Any idea how long that would take please?

We got one recently and it was more or less instant www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

If you're in the UK you can get a copy of the will and grant of probate:
https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

But that won't necessarily tell you how much she inherited.

If his estate went through probate then there will be a copy of his will and the probate certificate online of you follow the link above. The conveyancer who dealt with the sale of her house should have records of where the proceeds from that sale went.
Where is she currently living? Also, does she have enough money in savings after buying this new house to pay for care home fees should she need them in the future?

Thank you, I’ve gone ahead and ordered that. Will wait to see if it provides enough info.

Also, does she have enough money in savings after buying this new house to pay for care home fees should she need them in the future?

This is of no concern from the point of view of AML regulations. What's the relevance here?