Will doesn’t say who’s been left what?

[stepmum86]

I had a close friend who passed away 2 years ago. The executor stopped me from visiting him in the nursing home for reasons I’ve never been clear of. Think she assumed I was a gold digger.

Anyway, his house etc has all been sold now. I paid to download a copy of his will now it’s public from the government website. The lady is listed as the executor but there’s no other pages saying who’s been left what. Is that correct?

when he passed, I rang the solicitor and they said an ‘add on’ had been left with the will but couldn’t say what it said or if I’d been left anything. I’ve never been contacted, even though he said he’d look after me.

my main question is why aren’t all the beneficiaries listed on the online will?

Any beneficiaries will have been notified by the solicitor therefore I doubt you are a beneficiary of his will. To be honest, this post does make you seem like a gold digger, it's not really normal behaviour to look up wills on line and contact solicitors when a friend dies.

Agree with this.

If you've been told you would be left something of course you would look it up. Why wouldn't you? If you see the will and you haven't then you don't do anything further.

To the OP, I'm not sure why that bit would be missing.

When the friend told me that I would be left something then I think it’s completely normal thank you.

Also I read it’s the executors job to contact beneficiaries, not the solicitor.

What does the Will say? It sounds like he might have left a letter of wishes with the Will. AFAIK, the Executor does not have to follow a letter of wishes if it isn't stipulated within the Will.

I understand why you are enquiring; perfectly understandable if the friend told you that you would inherit.

And the letter of wishes is private unlike the will.

The whole purpose of a Will is to state who you want to leave your estate to. Are you sure you’ve not downloaded the Probate certificate? This states who the Executor is, and how much the estate is worth, but not how it is to be distributed- that will be in the Will.

Depends, if the solicitor was handling the estate they would. Are you sure there was a formal will?

What on earth is the point of a will that doesnt make it clear who the beneficiaries are?

Regardless of solicitors/exectors. Its the will that details who gets what and that should be available in the document you downloaded.

Otherwise it would be pointless to have a will

I've never heard of a will being written without naming beneficiaries. Are you sure he had a will?

Are you sure it's not a Grant of Probate that you've downloaded?

@stepmum86 Can be either but in fact no one has to! They can just pay out. Beneficiaries don’t have to be given the will. Plus an executor has no jurisdiction over visits to someone. Why take notice of that? I agree that if person said you had been left something you would have wondered what had happened. Unfortunately people say things and don’t do anything about it.

You sound exactly like a gold digger. Why should a platonic friend leave you anything in his will? Well anyway he didn't else you'd have it by now.

I think it would be really unusual if someone told you they were leaving you something in their will NOT to ask.

Do people really think when someone uses the phrase "gold-digger" they mean someone who doesn't do anything except look up someone's will after they've died?

Usually it's referring to the behaviour directed at the person with money in their lifetime.

Lots of people say that they will leave something in their will but very often they don't. Either because they don't really mean it or they don't get around to changing their will. It's most likely that you are not a beneficiary.

What does the will actually say?

Situations change. Just because he told you he would 2 years ago doesn’t mean he actually would.

This post does make you seem very grabby tbh

A will I downloaded recently from someone who died about 4 years ago stated who everything was left to, and how much. So I assume there was either no will, or you have downloaded the wrong document.

Have you definitely downloaded the actual Will?

If there is no list of beneficiaries in his will, I assume he only left one in order to name an executor.

If no beneficiaries are named, the estate will go in it's entirety to his closest next of kin. If there are two or more people equally close in marriage/consanguinity, it will be split equally between them. I am sure you know all this.

OP, if you wish to gain clarity and certainty regarding his final wishes, your best bet is to contact his named executor. Can you do this, and are they likely to respond to you?

If you have genuine reason to believe there has been some sort of foul play (the destruction of a legal will, for example) then you should contact the police. BUT, I am fairly certain that you would need some pretty solid evidence, beyond your friend telling you verbally that he planned to leave you something.

I am sorry for your loss, and sorry if your friend has misled you and made a promise they have not followed through on. I can see that that would be hurtful.

My aunt promised her stepson she would “see him right”. When she died her will left everything to her own ds.

I randomly and quite unexpectedly received a (very small!) bequest in a will. I was contacted by the firm of solicitors.

Thank you this comment has been very helpful