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 .

That would not take away any possibility of OP claiming. The question is not whether her mother has made any provision, it is whether she has made adequate provision.

I feel sorry for you that your mum does not want to provide for you and her grandchild knowing that you both are struggling. What about your brother? Why do you have such a bad relationship with him? Does he not meet your child at all? Could you speak to him and get him to help you at a later point. I can’t imagine taking all my mums money and leaving my sister in a precarious financial position.

I would write to her.

I would tell her that you were there helping her when she had MH issues and abused alcohol. That you did that because you loved you.

I would point out that she shunned you. It wasn't the other way round.

I would also be hard and say something like, go to your grave knowing how hurtful your behaviour is to your child who helped you.

And sign it off, Your loving daughter....

It might not change anything but you've said your piece. I don't think you will have the ability to contend the will.

The only thing that might happen is your DB gives you some of it, but I fear that's unlikely based on what you said. I'm so sorry.

A letter of wishes helps to explain the deceased's reasoning, but it doesn't necessarily make it harder to make a claim. The question is whether they have made adequate financial provision for the claimant.

In most of the cases I have listed the deceased made no provision at all for the claimant. Again, the question is not whether OP's mother intends to provide for her. On the information given, she clearly does not. The question is whether she has made adequate provision. In most cases for an adult child who is not dependent on the deceased parent, the courts take the view that providing nothing is perfectly adequate. However, they are increasingly of the view that the child should receive something if they can show a genuine financial need.

Lawyers, what are the implications of OP's family deliberately withholding the news of her mother's death when it happens, in order to stop her making a claim?

If OP's family act deliberately to run her out of time in the way you describe, I would expect the courts to grant her permission to bring her claim despite being out of time.

She can put a caveat against the will to stop the administration of the estate for six months whist she considers legal proceedings.

In Scotland you can't disinherit your children. But in England the law is different. Unless you can prove you are a dependent then it's unlikely you can claim anything from your mother's estate. That's AFAIK.

Nope. Read my post again. I’m not offering ‘legal advice’ to OP. I’m commenting in a none legal capacity, purely on the fact that I’m surprised a will can be challenged in this way. Is that a problem!? I’m pretty sure it’s okay to comment on the legal boards on a specific situation, whilst not offering legal advice…….

It used to be the case that the deceased's wishes were final. That changed in the 1930s after a number of cases where the deceased had cut their dependents out of their will, leaving them destitute. A new law was passed giving spouses and children the right to claim against the deceased's estate if they had not made adequate provision for them. The law has been updated a couple of times, extending the classes of eligible claimants, giving the courts greater discretion and allowing claims where the deceased has died without making a will.

The reasons a child has been excluded may be relevant, but the central question is whether the will has made adequate financial provision for them. For a long time, the courts took the view that no provision was needed for an adult child who was not dependent on the deceased, but in recent years they have been more willing to intervene if the child can show a genuine financial need. It isn't about the child's hurt feelings, so any cock and bull story they come up with is irrelevant. It is about their needs, which they will have to evidence.

In general that is true, but if the child can show genuine financial need the courts may be willing to up hold a claim.

Given they have been NC for 20 years I will say this boat has sailed hasn't it and it's pretty obvious there isn't much love between them.

And the only reason you're asking OP to reach out is not because she wants to see if she can rebuild the relationship it's simply because she wants money.

Or maybe read her posts, and listen to @prh47bridge who in my many years on MN is an incredibly talented and knowledgeable expert, who helped me enormously in the past

That’s good to know, @prh47bridge. I suppose the issue now for the OP is finding a solicitor and the cost of a legal claim?

OPi have been on the other side in this situation. My sibling was written out of the will, the deceased had sought legal advice and was assured that the will was water tight. The sibling consulted a no win no fee solicitor and despite the will being very clear, I ended up settling out of court AND paying some of their legal fees. You have 6 months after probate is granted to make your claim. I no longer have a relationship with my sibling, they were sneaky and underhanded in the way they dealt with it all. Funny thing is, had they not done that I was going to give them more than I settled on. Totally smashed the plans that the deceased had always instructed me to carry out. They are not a very nice person and they have to live with that, but money doesn’t buy happiness and they will never be happy

In your shoes I would write to your mother and brother and set out your situation. You have nothing to lose at this point.

That's not entirely true. Children in Scotland can make a claim but only on moveable property - cash, shares, paintings, cars, jewellery but not land or houses.

Yes all of them. Her mum doesn’t want her to have anything. So she doesn’t get anything

I read all of them. The op has been cut off and claims that it is for no real reason. But all I see is someone who hasn’t been in her mum’s life all of a sudden expecting to take her money…she doesn’t want her to have it…how disrespectful to try to fight that.

the op should be ashamed of herself and respect her mum’s wishes. Just because you helped her a bit in your teens (and we all know how reliable teens versions of events are) doesn’t mean you are owed anything.

shame on op

I've got legal experience of 18 years

I'm sorry you went through that.

I hope for your sake that there is no Will. If there is no Will your mother's estate would be distributed through the laws of intestacy and I believe you would share the estate with your siblings. I hope that she is all talk with no Will made.

Is there any chance your brother has manipulated the situation OP? I only ask because I’m in a similar situation to you. One of my parents has had problems with alcohol for years, and that has made them vulnerable. My sibling has definitely been using targeted coercive control on that parent for years, and I think their ultimate motive is to get me written out of the will so they get everything. My parent ignores my child when I go round to visit and is overly critical of them. But they idolise my siblings child.

It sounds like you’ve been through so much and your mother has treated you appallingly. I think you should just drop the rope with her to be honest, and focus on your child. She’s not going to change.

It’s hard when your parent doesn’t act like a loving parent should. Sorry you’re going through this as well.

This is not correct. Speak to a solicitor because on here you will get a lot of poor advice. You don’t need to know when someone is applying for Grant to lodge a caveat you can just do it but you need to make sure you do it on one of the permitted basis otherwise if they challenge it you will have withdraw it anyway. You can extend your caveat every 6 months I think. Then IF the grant is still issues you have 6 months to make a claim (the clock starts ticking when grant is issued) The has been a case recently where the fact that adult child making a claim was on benefits actually strengthened their case

As a defendant, perhaps.

Presumably not in this area, then, since you appear to be unaware of the fact that the courts are increasingly of the view that an adult child in genuine financial need is entitled to a slice of their parent's estate.