Executor being asked to change will

[user1471461828]

Username changed because I would hate to be identified asking this.

I am executor of an estate, there are four beneficiaries of which I am one. I benefit more than the other three, their deceased stepparent is my parent. Our shared parent died some years ago. Shared parents half of the total estate is split between the four of us, with the remaining half to me solely.

One has spoken to me saying that they expected more from the will (I gave them an indication of what to expect) and they would like to be treated fairly, and I believe want the estate split equally four ways. I shut this down at the time because the loss is still very raw but also I think this is illegal as not what is stated in the will.

I’m going to instruct solicitors, but I wonder if there’s any way they could challenge this?

My understanding is that to do what has been asked would require a Deed of Variation. This would have to be agreed by all beneficiaries. If one of the beneficiaries objects then that's that.

As an executor you have to distribute according to the will. Unless you WANT to give them a share of your inheritance then they are being right CFs.

They have their other parent to inherit from, stand firm. Your parent wanted their estate to go to you

Hand the whole thing over to a solicitor to deal with. Much the best option.

Ask them if they’ll be sharing any inheritance from their other parent with you.

This 👆

I can guarantee that the answer would be a resounding no.

You have to distribute the estate in accordance with the will however there is nothing stopping you from gifting money to them afterwards if you wanted to. You aren't prohibited from doing that. Obviously you'd have to want to do it though.

Then you can reply saying “in the interest of fairness then I’ll respect my parent’s wishes”.

the technical accountancy parlance is
"tough shit"
the will provided for all of you in percentages that the donors had thought through

It takes a big sum of money to challenge a Will, I’ve seen on posts here of people talking silly sums of £100,000, so yes they can contest it, but might be put off once they hear how much it costs. Wills are written for a reason and they don’t really have anything to contest it, other than they’re not happy.

A Deed of Variation can be done, providing any beneficiary who is going to be worse off by the change agrees with the change.

However, the Deed of Variation must be done within 2 years of the death of the Testator.

The will is pretty clear and they are not related to the deceased.

I would follow the will . If once the estates has been settled you feel it appropriate to gift them something that's up to you but I wouldn't feel obligated to.

'What a shame that things don't always turn out the way you'd like!' Tell them that. They're imagining you'll be all upset at the thought you're not being 'fair'. Disregard. It's your money. They still got some!

They can absolutely challenge it, but unless they can prove that that isn't what the will says, they won't win. Wills don't have to be fair. Your parent(s) could have cut you all out and given everything to the local dogs home if they wanted! Sometimes people get the idea that it is their "right" to inherit. Unless what you are inheriting is like the post of King, there is no "Right". Yes, most people share their stuff between their kids, but they could give it all to a friend, a charity, the beggar they see in the street, if they wanted.

You don’t have to give them anything. They could challenge the Will if they felt it was not legally valid. There a very few grounds for successfully challenging. If they were successful and the will was cancelled, and no earlier version of a valid will was available, then your parent would have died intestate (without a will) and intestacy laws would apply (which don’t recognise stepchildren - so they’d not inherit at all).

Currently your toe as executor is to fresh with legal requirements of the will ,( dint worry that you have to rush in frantic time, it's accepted that people grieve, have lived, and there can be a lot to do) and then to distribute anything l thing obtained from the deceased property, money chaos, the family pets even) in avoidable with the explicit instructions if the will.

As a matter of interest and legal possibility if it is something YOU are interested in at she point and may get is reasonable after extensive consideration and possibly construction ( which in this case may well be advisable), note tha a will can be changed up to 2 years after the date of the death in a deed if variation which is a very simple legal document for a solicitor to construct v and will l should take less than an hour. Importantly this applies only to anyone who is being deprived of assets they would have inherited who needs to further agree to this in t writing in he variation which a legal document which essentially becomes a new supplementary version of the will sharing that you gl deduct some of your inheritance in whatever firm and give it to other beneficiaries ( normally those already mashed by increasing what they already were gifted, or in some cases adding in a further family member child who had subsequently been both after the will was written but another one had not been completed in time to update the information- everyone mentioned in the will would be affected by verification and have to shed to this ,NB.). For records and proof you should get variations signed and witnessed by a solicitor. Probate needs to be completed and applied for in the standard way and nothing can be proceed ef further until it is granted and the stairs private firm is switch and received.
really Importantly @user1471461828 ,on this issue you should feel under absolutely no pressure or coercion at all to do this and you are under no obligation whatsoever to make any amendments. I think the other the other beneficiaries would struggle to successfully challenge you In this case. You are the biological child of the deceased wheras they are not as I understand it so I believe it would be seen as reasonable you would be gifted a greater proportion. I presume they're is no way they could be obstreperous and attempt to claim dimished capacity on the party if your father at the time the will was made. I have known this to happen( it wasn't the case but caused an almighty, spiteful, and unnecessary headache, prior can become horrible and greedy dinnertime over not l been large sums of money, and I think that's when they show what their make of. It's just do sad).. as an additional point for consideration did your father have any of your step siblings living with him or provide ongoing financial support for them which he didn't for you for some reason? If they had been thst position, they could possible now try claiming to be at s great disadvantage financially without this and require more money? That might be the only possible ground for a challenge, however there would have to be extensive provable evidence on all fronts and with an inheritance providing s financial fun I do don't how successful they would be anyway I'm going to assume this isn't the case for now anyway.

You appear to be In s position where your slightly bigger proportion sounds reasonable ,I don't know the history of familial relations etc ,(were you brought up from birth as siblings full time, brrought up from years apart only seeing your step siblings occasionally- maybe the even moved to the far end of the country... There are multiple unknown s( they then may have only been seeing their father rarely too in one potential scenario).

Your Step sibs may be disgruntled, ,but your late father's wish a clearly expressed in a legally accepted format. How well you get on with them and how you wish you relationship to continue may affect whether you need to pursue a variation it are hair to stick with the status quo c and let things lie. These are all things they can't make you do. only pursue making a variation if you are sure you want to take that route , are very sure, and get guidance from a professional with experience in exactly this. Not all solicitor actually have experience in variations even if they are solicitor who deals with wills and estates

However meanwhile, Wait.... see how things go, let the shock and grief subside a little and see how your relationship goes then decide how you want to proceed. You have up to two years to make and submit the changes.i hope it works out, you aren't harangued and your life is taken over. To me personality, this would be reason if enough to day no as I hate this if sags. If but the,,m something really decent and meaningful , but wouldnt participate in the game. Hopefully you won't get involved in such a game and are left practically alone to live your life happily ,

They really have a nerve. I'm sorry you've lost both parents now. Presumably they still have one parent alive. They really are cheeky suggesting that you give your parent's money to them when they wouldn't do the same for you. I would just say to them that you are following the wishes of your parent and won't discuss the matter anymore.

Is this AI generated?

That is what I wondered. It is complete gobbledegook.
OP, as executor you have to follow the will. If anyone wants to contest the will they will have to pay a solicitor to do it and that will be very expensive.
Ignore them and take your time to do things properly. It is a long process.
If you turn it all over to a solicitor it will be expensive.
You could pay for a consultation for advice and a letter which you could copy to all beneficiaries, which might give them pause for thought.

@Negroany it is absolutely 100% not generated by AI, but by a very tired mother who is now in bed having been dealing with an I'll nephew for most of tonight. I've sure checked out list of times but I'm so tired but it's probably still full and if part gibberish.
I'm the post free years I've done 2 variations myself for family wills, dealt with another 2 contests against wills one to my godparents and one to my BIL AND SISTER. I'm not a solicitor ive made sure I know how it works and what needs to be done.
Why does it look like so it of curiosity is it that there's so much assorted i important info I'm trying to convey that it's jumble as I'm knackered? No one has ever asked that before( they've asked if I've been drunk though😬). ADHD plus tiredness 🤦‍♀️

Ironically look at my other thread in legal and I'm asking about a solicitor my husband is having to write his will who I just don't get at all, so asked for legal opinions. Funny world, always is. Guess it makes it interesting at least!

@user1471461828 Don't be bullied into this. You were given the role as executor for this very reason. As we always say here, "don't set yourself on fire to make someone else warm." Realize that no matter what you do, they will not be satisfied.

Okay so I'll try again. Hopefully being more clear at this.
ANY wIll CAN be challenged. If someone is hell-bent enough to do it, ( whether this would succeed is another story entirely).the challenger would need to employ a solicitor to do this which would be a costly exercise (unless they won and then they would claim the costs back against the other party) .- They would have to have grounds to do so if if they won.
They need to be able to have a train to connect however, For example, that when the will was written. The father was not of sound mind if this could be proven with evidence they may be over be able to overturn the will . Similarly, if one of the stepchildren was being financially supported by their stepfather or lived with the stepfather throughout their lifetime. Whereas the daughter and no one else did,They may possibly have a claim of a greater amount than they have been gifted in the will at this stage as we know no details. It is impossible to say assuming none of this is true and the bare facts are simple,

I would assume this would be a very foolish move if the relationship of the four children has always been equal. The executor may feel that it is fair that all for receive an equal share if this is not the case, and for example, she has always lived as a 'full 'child I.e she has lived with the deceased full-time, whereas the step siblings may be only occasionally visited and saw their father every other weekend. It may be perfectly reasonable that she inherits a greater share. Whether she decides they should all have the same , lesser share orll and the will should remain the same.

If desired, There is an option to vary the will which essentially is creating a new version. T
his can be done up to 2 years after the death and it's a simple document which can be drawn up. The person who is 'deprived' in order to Grant others a greater sum stipulates they are doing this. It is signed and witnessed by a solicitor and logged for their records a/then sent to the probate office. I have been responsible for doing this a number of times (as children have been born shortly after a death within the family and the beneficiaries have decided that it would only be fair for them to be included in the will.)

My point was the executor can change the will if she wants, but importantly, shouldn't feel pressured. Her dad has died she should, Take her time decide what her ongoing relationship is like, what she wants it to be. See how she feels, get over the current situation and decide. she has time.
I don't know if it makes any more sense, but I'm definitely not a robot. But a North London housewife with w children!
I do know quite a lot about this situation whether ik capable of recording myself currently if not tonight cand I'm just trying to give a little bit more information to the person who is worried and likely a bit upset as she's just list her father.

She's perfectly welcome to message me if she wants to ask very specific questions. It will be very clear at the time, not an AI robot. I'm very sorry if I appear to be so

I've never heard that before, it's a really good saying!

Yep. I learned it here and it has really stood me in good stead.