AIBU to ask if I could contest my mother’s will?

[impossibletocontest]

Is it always impossible to contest a will in England.
I’ve been told I will not be inheriting and that my brother will be the sole beneficiary. He has a good very well paid job as does his wife, own their own home and are comfortable. Dm has a large estate so he will inherit a large amount.

I live in HA accommodation, with one child (disabled and SEN) plus I have a physical disability which is progressive and I can only work PT so reliant on UC top ups and will probably end up totally reliant when health deteriorates further.

I know England is difficult with this issue is there any chance a court would look at the situation and see that it’s fair to award me something?

ive been told that I won’t even be able to get a caveat before probate as they won’t tell me immediately on the death of dm so the assets will already have been given ? They are very low contact with me so I think they’ll absolutely do this. Is there anything now I can do or do I have to just accept that I will always struggle and my brother gets everything. As a child I was my DM carer as she had alcohol and MH issues so I feel really really used and cast aside.
She is 84 now and in poor health and the only contact I get is her telling me how I won’t get anything from her .

IANAL - get this moved to legal as you will get some proper advice on there. Here people will just say - no one is entitled to anything.

Your mum is still alive? I would be working on re-establishing contact with her now, and building bridges while you still can.

On what grounds would you contest it?

She won’t talk to me - hasn’t had much contact very low for the last 20 years and now it’s slightly more just to tell me I’m getting nothing.

Does your brother have more contact than you? Why are you low contact?

It’s possible to claim on estates under the inheritance act. But, it’s a properly complicated part of the law and will depend totally on your circumstances. If you’ve got the money to you should see a solicitor and see if they think you’ve got a chance of a claim on the estate. Then you’d need to wait for your mother to die and make the claim within 6 months of her death. The default is to follow the will, but your disability and need might make a difference (IANAL and this is an area where you should really get some decent legal advice).

Don’t ask this in AIBU, @impossibletocontest - ask in Legal, as pp advised.

You have low/no contact, why would you expect anything?

Im no contact with my father, I don't want one rotten penny.

Please don't worry yourself over this, make your life as good as you can without their involvement.

@impossibletocontest you could contest, being successful with your claim is another matter.

I am a lawyer in a linked area.

What grounds were you thinking of?

You can contest wills in England - but you need to have valid grounds.

Does she lack capacity do you think? Do you think your brother has unduly influenced her? Are you currently financially dependent on her?

You can't contest just on grounds of being her daughter and being poor. You would just waste money on lawyers. You might be best off persuading your brother to do a deed of variation when he inherits.

Does your mum have any contact with her grandchildren? Could she possibly be planning on leaving some of her estate to them instead of you?

You need to speak to your solicitor. There are grounds a will can be contested but they are specific and narrow. You’d need to present your challenge. I assume that it is another relative suggesting they will hide the death from you as your mother would have no power over this- she would be dead

Given the relative has suggested they will hide the death from you it shows they fear you would be successful.

Only your solicitor can advise if they can do anything about this while she is still alive. Maybe they can set up a system where they get notified of any application for probate under her name, or for unpublished deaths in her council area.

That i need something to survive on , db is comfortable and will have excess whereas I have worsening health (MS) and a child to support with high needs who may never be able to work. It would mean I won’t be reliant on benefits forever

She has no contact with my child she never wanted to see him. She sees DB children regularly.

Unless you’ve been financially dependent on your mother you are unlikely to get anything, but entering a caveat makes administering the estate difficult and lengthy so they may give you something to get you to remove the caveat.

She seems to be of sound mind. There’s no way he would give me a penny.

What's your relationship like with your brother?

Your Mum doesnt sound especially pleasant but you arent entitled to anything if she chooses not to make you a beneficiary. She doesnt sound like a very nice person.

If thats the way she feels and she only ever contacts you to tell you that you wont get anything from her then I would cut off all contact with her and move on with your life

You should talk it through with a solicitor who will ask more questions of detail but I cannot see that these are valid grounds to challenge under English law.

Why are you low or no contact with them, who is telling you this, she isn't even dead yet. Assets are not distributed until all the debts, tax, are paid and the executor has prepared final accounts, when she dies her bank account will be frozen so nothing can be paid out except for the funeral. Probate needs to be granted first before anyone can start looking at the estate, who is the executor. If she has a will then that will be published online eventually. If you feel she has been coerced into making her will and she has mh issues then you could contest it but if she's of sound mind she can leave whatever she wants to whoever she wants. I'm not a solicitor so someone else will know more but why is this being discussed.

If she is of sound mind, and not being coerced by your brother to leave all her money to him, then I'm not sure you can do anything about it. I hope I'm wrong, because it sounds as if your personal circumstances would be greatly improved with an inheritance.

I just feel so upset because from the ages of 6-18 I was a carer. I’d get her drinks when she told me to I’d sit up at nights with her when she was paranoid , I’d have to go to the shops to get us food as she didn’t cook when she was drunk or unwell with nerves. I didn’t much and lost my childhood. My brother is 4 years younger than me she virtually ignored him and he must remember this but when I left for uni she sorted herself out and he was golden child and he got everything he wanted suddenly. I lost my childhood and I have no idea how I scraped through exams etc

I’m sure you know that you can’t contest a will just because you don’t think it’s fair.

You would really need actual grounds - coercion, mental capacity or lack of understanding, forgery or invalidity. I think the fact she doesn’t financially support you now is also a factor.

You could make a claim against the estate (different from contesting), but I think that would be pretty difficult.

Low/no contact as when I went to uni she lost her temper that I was abandoning her and it was just from that point. When I do rarely speak to either they will bring it up to remind me

But if you barely have a relationship with your mother, why would you expect an inheritance from her, OP? It seems that she has capacity, so she can leave her money as she wishes. I don't think, legally, that alleging "need" will make any difference, because you don't appear to meet the definition of a dependent adult child. Just forget about your mother, and get on with your life.