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Father in law burried by estranged family

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  • Father in law burried by estranged family

    Hey, I just made this account to ask a few legal questions, so forgive me if this is in the wrong topic.

    So, my father-in-law (steven) was taken into hospital in May '16 diagnosed with terminal cancer, a few weeks prior he was also diagnosed with dementia. Due to the dementia, he believed that his wife of 25 years (darla) was being unfaithful, and that their 2 children were hiding it from him, (my wife and her brother) so when he got out of hospital, he moved in with his estranged daughter, who he left 30+ years ago and signed all rights to her mother.

    And this is where everyrhing goes down hill, his estranged family, and his current family have never gotten along, as they believe darla caused him to leave their mother, (his previous wife). So anytime any of his current family visited him, there would always be a member of his previous family in the room, even when we were In his bedroom talking about our personal life, we never got a second alone with him.

    He lived with them for 4 weeks before he passed away. However about 2 weeks into staying with his estranged daughter, he told her that he wanted to go home and spend the rest of his time with his wife and children. At this pointo his estranged daughter called the doctors and told them he had a mental break due to his dementia, and he was put on morphine, where he slept for the rest of his life.

    It has recently come into light, that 2 days before he passed away, 2 withdrawals of £1000 were taken from his bank account. Only his estranged daughter, ano his current wife knew his password, but his estranged daughter had his bank card.

    After he passed away, his estranged family burried him, however, they didn't not do anything that he said that he wanted at his funeral. For example, he had bought grave plotshirt for himself and his current wife years ago, and they have been paid for. However his estranged family refused to bury him next to his current wife (not yet deceased) so they burried hI'm elsewhere. His current family where left out of his euology, his ex wife was listed as his current wife, and his children with his current wife were not acknowledged at all. His current wife felt too threatened to even attend the funeral as his estranged family have always been very threatening towards her. We have no idea where he is burried.

    And finally, they have taken control of all his possessions, including his funeral insurance and his car.

    We have informed our solicitors, however thus far every attempt to get anything has not proven fruitful.

    Do we have any legal standing at all? Is there anything we can do to make his death right?

    Thank you
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

    Yes, his wife, I believe, in the absence of a will, will inherit all his possessions. What they have done is theft and should be reported as such to the police, though they may decide it is a civil matter.

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    • #3
      Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

      Hey ostell, thank you for your reply, he did have a will, leaving everything to his wife, however his estranged family claim he made a new will in the last week's of his life. We have not seen the wI'll, and don't know whether or not he got a medical certificate with it, as he was most definitely not of sound mind :/

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      • #4
        Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

        An application should be made to the court to have the "new will" declared invalid. My only advice to you is this: get a lawyer to do it, this is very complicated.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

          Originally posted by Jamok23 View Post
          Hey ostell, thank you for your reply, he did have a will, leaving everything to his wife, however his estranged family claim he made a new will in the last week's of his life. We have not seen the wI'll, and don't know whether or not he got a medical certificate with it, as he was most definitely not of sound mind :/
          The second Will is also on public record so you can gain access to this. [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION]

          It's the court who decides whether someone has 'capacity' (ie of sound mind) or not, it is presumed the person has capacity unless it is proven to the contrary: Mental Capacity Act 2005. Given he had terminal cancer and on morphine it's unlikely he had capacity to sign the 2nd Will as he's not likely to know what was going on or be so emotionally affected it renders him 'incapacitated.' You can put a Caveat on the second Will, which will stop the Will being distributed.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

            If probate has not yet been granted (check herehttps://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records) you can lodge a caveat as OL suggests which will stop the grant of probate. (//www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/stopping-a-grant-of-representation)
            Also ensure that his bank(s) and life insurers (if any) know of his passing, and that there is a caveat lodged .
            That will stop any more dimunition of his assets.
            That will give you time to gather the evidence you will need to challenge the second will (whether you do it yourself or employ a contentious probate solicitor (very expensive!)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

              Thank you all for your responses, his wife is currently talking with a solicitor and has sent them a letter stating that if they do not contact them and provide them with a valid will within 7 days, then they will be taken to court, it's been 2 weeks now, and still no word. I'm not sure it this makes a difference but we are in the UK, (just incask it changes everything) all banks and insurance companies were notified of his passing within a week, but all his money was taken out 2 days before he passed. Hopefully we will get this taken care of soon, more than likely it will go to court though.

              Is there anything else that I would need to do?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Father in law burried by estranged family

                What court action is intended, or is this an attempt to put pressure on?
                If a will is in existence that names an executor, the holder should pass it to that person to enable them to apply for a grant of representation.
                They have no duty to supply the will (or even a copy) to a third party, even if that party is a beneficiary, relative or solicitor.

                Comment

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