Not included in fathers will

[Broodymomma]

My estranged father died in november and has not added either myself or his son in his will. He never paid a days maintenance for us in his life and flitted in and out of my life until I was 15.

He left all his money to someone he had known 5 years but my half brother wants to contest it saying both our mothers should get something considering he never paid for either of us all his life.

We only found out he died by reading it in the paper. I personally do not want anything but was told there was money left in an account that he had not allocated - the executor of the will (also main benefactor) told me that would be spilt between me and my half brother but it appears she has kept it for herself.

Should my brother contest the will?

i thought a benefactor could not be an executor?

what is the point of contesting it? it will take a loooooong time, and it is quite clear by his actions he did not want to support you all financially...

if your father was of sound mind when he wrote his will, he can be as mean spirited as he wants.

sorry.

Is the person he has left it to a romantic partner? If so I think it's fair enough.

I don't know anything about the legal process in contesting a will but I imagine it could be lengthy and costly. Did the executor give your brother an indication of the unallocated amount, or the total value of the estate? It simply may not be worth it financially.

Your brother has to do what he thinks is right, but personally I agree with you that it's best to leave it. Your dad obviously wasn't a responsible father to you both, and trying to wring some responsibility out of him in death seems to be bitter and likely to cause more pain than just trying to live with it.

Sorry for your loss.

was he supposed to pay maintenance?
if so it may be that you (or your mothers) are actually creditors to the estate owes you money- I would check with a solicitor

legal advice will establish whether any misdeameanor has occurred regarding the distribution of monies

Do you have a general idea of how much money he left? Is there enough there to 'fight' over?

I think (but I am not a lawyer) that because he had never paid for you you would not be entitled to contest. If you had been maintained by him you may have been able to claim that you were dependent on him.

The whole thing is a utter mess. I had accepted the way things are but finally managed to track down my step brother and now he wants to take it further.

No the woman was not romantic just a friend. What is being argued over is this £10.000 that the woman told me she was going to give to me and my half brother (the lawyer told her as it had not been allocated in will it by rights should come to us) - the woman then said she did not need solicitor assistance but has also not passed on the money.

As far as I am concerned I dont want a penny - it would bring me no happiness but my half brother feels differently and i feel stuck in middle. He was a pig to us to the very end - he knew he was dying and refused to even tell us. He was a very strange man. Played the victim all the time. Anyway thats not the point of this - I just feel sick about the whole thing. A couple of grand in my pocket wont change that but in the same respect the woman I feel is very wrong in not passing on money that by law apparently should come to us. I would rather see it go to charity than her keep it the way she has behaved towards us.

Just want to add i met this woman when i went to see my fathers body. I have never asked nor want anything but closure on the situation with my father. It was her who said there is money for you and I will make sure you get it, I know he left her 50,000 which i would never contest and would be angry if he did too, its this spare 10,000 that she promised us thats causing the hassle. Since the funeral i have never heard from her nor tried to contact her as the money means nothing to me and truth be known it would choke me to take it the way he behaved towards me in life.
I tracked my half brother down to tell him about the death and he feels that that money she promised should come to us considering also how much she has already been left by him. I hate this bloody situation.

An executor can also be a benefactor.

For £5000 each I'm not sure I would not bother pursuing it with a solicitor if it's going to be upsetting but it sounds like there may be more to it for your brother. Can you speak to the executor? I believe she has 12 months to sort everything out which can be extended if specified in the will.

OK.

If the will left everything to an individual or individuals (eg I leave £10k to x, £10k to y, and the remainder to x) then I don't think there is any point getting involved.

If the will didn't (eg I leave £50k to x) and then was silent, then this is an incomplete will (which would be unusual, as all solicitors and DIY packs would instruct on the need for a 'remainderperson') then any amount not specified in the will would fall to be distributed under the intestacy rules.

Rules are linked here:

www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/why_will.htm

I would pass this information on to your brother and then try to forget about it.

For him I think its hurt that our dad was a violent man to both our mothers and an awful absentee father to both of us. Neither of our mothers forced the issue of maintenance as we are in our 30's now and in our childhood csa was not what it is now. It was just accepted he flitted in and out as he liked and both women were petrefied of him. They both alwys felt in his death we would get what they feel is rightfully ours and under scots law I think we are entitled to a third of any money left.
To me it just brings back awful memories and the past 6 weeks have been sheer hell. I always thought i would have my day with him to tell him how i felt and i geuss if i am honest him not acknowledging his kids in his will is yet another kick in the teeth but no surprise to me.
The problem lies this woman through drink promised us this money and further the money from the sale of his car and now she has just done nothing about it.
I dont feel he was ever a father to me so dont feel i want his money but i also dont want this woman getting away with pocketing it if my brother does. Nobody is contesting what he left her or anybody else just what she promised us and has now went back on.

Thanks to you all for the information. He was calling her today so I will see what has come from that and pass him on the link above.

Aargh - Scots Law - OK forget everything I have said, and look at this link instead.

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/12/05115128/51285

Correct me if I'm wrong but if it is only 6 weeks since your father died then the executor may not yet have obtained the authority to transfer money, close accounts etc. She has to apply for a grant of probate (or Scottish equivalent) which involves considerable paperwork and an appointment at the local court to swear on oath. It can then take a little while before accounts are wound up especially if there are investments or insurance/assurance policies.

Sorry this is stirring so much unhappiness for you.

It's only six weeks, these process take long time. Don't ruin the woman's good will (at the end of the day she told you there was money when she could keep silent about it) by putting unnecessary pressure on her.

I'm afraid I have no advice for you but just wanted to add that the man sounds like a bastard.
I really feel for you - losing a father that never was - and then having to go through this. Make sure you look after yourself and keep yourself sane and grounded - otherwise you might need some therapy to deal with this situation in the future. Good luck.
btw - Cruse is a good bereavement charity.

Thank everyone. Mongolia - I am in no way trying to ruin her good will. She was very drunk when she told me about the money and it came on the back of the other 2 friends telling me about it. When I rang her about the ashes she said she was seeing the laywer and would ring me back the next day if we were getting anything and I have never heard from her again and she did not return my call.
My half brother rang her and he also left his details with the lawyer to pass to her but she has not returned those calls either.

Since getting back in touch with him he has told me how our dad tried to smother him as a baby and then also threw him down stairs fracturing his skull. He them emptied his mother banki account when she left him for turning on their child. When I was 6wks old he through my mum out in the street in march at 2am with me in her arms and told her she could get back in when i had shut up. So much has come out now, we both knew he was bad but I had no idea to what extent. Am finding it all really hard to take in.

As for the money, basically scots law says we are entitled to a quarter each of the total amount of moveable assets he left. This woman is aware of that but never told me that. Anyway as I said he has decided to claim for that quarter so we will see where it goes from here. It works out to min 15 thou each which i also feel now our mothers deserve. No amount of money could make up for what he done but my own mum cant work anymore due to very bad health and awaits a transplant so money would help and I dont see why this woman should have what we are entitled to.
I will let you all know where it goes from here.
Thanks again

Good luck with this. Just a thought, whatever the outcome, would be nice if both you and your half-brother did the same thing as support for each other.
You have two issues, getting any possible money which you may as well have and awful things coming out which are bound to play on your mind. Unless you are made of stone you will need support from somewhere.