wills and possible pulling the wool over my eyes by ex-MIL

[nannyme]

Full of exciting questions today, I'd like to know about wills.

My strange ex MIL who causes all kinds of bother at times but who is utterly adoring (sometimes in a selfish and materialistic kind of way) of her two grandchildren (my eldest two children) has told us that after the latest bout of falling out with family members and also a few health scares, she'd like to change her will. She is married, but her H is my two's step grandfather. They live in Spain and have property that they wish to leave the children.

They have asked me to urgently send or email copies of the children's birth certificates so that they may change their will.

I was just about to send them when I was struck by the memory of MIL's son (children's father) trying to get a Prohibitive Steps Order last year to stop us moving from the NW to London and as a pre-cursor to an application for residency. This was all backed by his mother in a very underhand way and she also used personal information to fabricate a story about the unsuitability of the home environment I provide. It was, essentially, thrown out of court after 1 appearance before the judge.

All done and dusted, but of course, after that horrendous experience I am now very suspicious. Does she really need the Birth Certs to change her will or could their be an ulterior motive?

I know nothing about wills, I've not one myself.

sorry 'there'

I wouldn't have thought she'd need birth certificates no .. I didn't .... you just put the beneficiaries name, and possibly address, in your will

what benefit would a birth certificate have .. unless she's considering some kind of trust fund

although if domiciled abroad and wanting to leave assets to someone in UK I would assume that you would need to check Spanish Law .. why don't you call the spanish embassy and ask them if there's someone you could talk to about it .. worth a shot?

Right. Don't know anything about trust funds either, except that I wish somebody had one going for me ready to be accessed when I am 35.

Good thinking. Might be worth a bit of Googling but I have a sense of it being mighty snoozesome.

Could be complicated because we live in France, they live in Spain but we are all UK nationals.

Sorry to say it sounds fishy to me nannyme, like why would they need them urgently even if it was bonofide? I'd stall until you know what the law in Spain states regarding wills.

I can't see why she would need the birth certificates as surely anyone can leave their money to whoever they like?

You can leave your money to a member of the family or a complete stranger but you don't even have to tell them beforehand, let alone need their birth cert. as far as I'm aware.

My PIL have written a will recently that involved leaving money to our children -we had to sign various bits of paper, witnessing it etc but no birth certs involved.

Thanks

I think, upon further thinking and reading your replies it sounds very odd. Just have to figure out how to back pedal and tell them I actually won't be able to send certificates after all.

could just be blunt I suppose.

If they are setting up a trust fund they may need the birth certificates - our daughter's godfather needed hers when he wanted to set up a trust fund for her. But they're not needed just to leave someone something in your will. Hope that might help.