question about wills and children

[TheArmadillo]

I'm asking this for a friend.

She was 15 when her mum died and thinks that her stepfather has taken everything that was left for her (house, pension, savings and similar).

SHe is now 24, but has only managed to get hold of a copy of the will recently.

Her stepfather is now remarried and refuses to contact her. She thinks he was the executor (?) but is not sure (she is getting someone to explain the will to her).

If her stepfather did take the things that are owing to her is there anything she can do about it after all this time?

Her brother was an adult (26) at the time, but is likely to be joint beneficiary. However he was out of contact with the family at the time and isn't really interested in all this. Would that be a problem?

TIA

The executor should act in accordance with the instructions laid out in the will. If he has not i.e she should have got something but he has pocketed it, he is in trouble. I think your friend needs to see a solicitor. If she cant afford one she could use a legal bod from the citizens advice to initially look at things.

P.s I don't think these things are time limited. Especially as she was a minor at the time.

Is the will that she's looking at an official copy of the one that probate was granted on, or one that she's got from somewhere else?

DD is a solicitor dealing in this area of law. We are at parent's evening tonight, but I can ask him about this when we return this evening if you wish.

If she has the will it should say whpo the beneficiaries are, and who the executors were.

Was her stepfather married to her mother at the time?

Will really depend on what the will says on what they can do next.

Your friend needs to see a solicitor and discuss the will. Probate fraud is not uncommon and can take a long time to sort out.

Thanks for that.

the will is her mum's final registered copy and the one that was used.

I was worried in case there was a time limit, but if not sounds like she probably will have a case.

Thanks.

I guess it depends on exactly what the will says. Technically if hse was only 15 then she wouldn't have inherited directly - it would be in trust for her. Trustees (and I'm guessing her stepfather would have been one) have various powers. But in short she does need to take urgent legal advice.

Her stepfather was married to her mum.

At the moment she is checking what the will says (rather than second hand versions from several people).

WE just wanted to see if it was worth the trouble finding everything out and double checking it as it is all quite upsetting for her if unneccessary (complicated stuff behind it all). If there was no chance it wouldn't be worth it (IYSWIM).

Thanks for this.

Definitely needs to see a solicitor about this - and one who knows what they are doing too. Find a specialist probate one, and not just a general practioner if she can.

Not my field really but generally, although such actions would normally be time barred after around 6 years, legislation provides that in cases of fraud, concealment or mistake, the time limit for bringing a claim does not start to run until you are actually aware of the problem or could reasonably have been aware of it.

In your friend's case it could be argued that this means that the clock only starts ticking when she actually got hold of a copy of the will - although it could be argued that she could have got hold of a copy much sooner and checked the position.

In any event, she needs to act as quickly as possible now.

Thanks - another friend has a good solicitor who has recently been dealing with her parents wills, and who will give friend some advice for free if she finds all this stuff.

I briefly saw a copy of the will when friend was 17 (and she found her stepfather's copy - but couldn't take it). It seems to be that she should have been left something (she got nothing apart from £1000 and a couple of photos when her stepfather turfed her out at 18 - she was still at school - and sold the house). Her brother has never got anything either.

The house was owned by her mum not him and he was also not her legal guardian (though he agreed with them to look after her).

I'll tell her its worth looking into. The whole thing with her stepdad has affected her quite deeply up till now and she hasn't wanted to believe he would really take things from her, but imo he is basically a bastard (I did know him) and this wouldn't be unlikely.

The interesting thing is that because your friend was a minor when her mum made the will, there will have been two Executors who would also have acted as Trustees, to ensure that the money was propertly invested.

really? Would these have been named in the will? I'll get her to look into that. Thanks.

Yes, although I'm not a wills & probate specialist, I'm doing quite a lot of wills at the moment to help our w&p person, and I always always tell the client they need 2 executors (and preferably a substitute) if they have minor children.

Are you sure it was a proper will, not a WH Smith DIY job?

your friend needs to ask her solicitor to get a copy of the will that was used.

she needs to see what was left to her and what wasn't mentioned in the will.

imho - If the house, money, savings weren't mentioned as actually going to her then her step father would have ownership as he was married to her mother. This depends on the value of the house and the money though.

She needs to check this out with legal help.

I'll get her to check all that out - thanks.