Beneficiary to estate-Scotland

[Lawrence33]

I wondered if someone could help me regarding wills in Scotland. I have not been in contact with my father and sister for some years. I have recently been contacted by a genealogy company informing me I am a beneficiary to my Fathers estate. On the internet I have now found out my father died a few months ago. The genealogy firm want me to sign a form that will give them 10% of any funds/assets which I am not keen to do. I know the address of my late father and the date of his death but I do not know how to get in touch with anyone dealing with the will. I am not on good terms with my sister or other relatives and they will not contact me and I assume have told any solicitor etc that they do not know where I am, hence the genealogy firm. I have made a search on the National Will Register website but have heard nothing back as yet. Is there any other way I can get some information about who might be dealing with the will? Property is involved so it would not be a small estate. If I were to contact the local sheriff court would they be able to give me any information regarding Confirmation and who is dealing with it? I am presuming there is a will but there may not be one and I would suspect my sister would be using a solicitor but I suppose she may not be. I’m not quite sure what my next step should be. Thank you

[PallasAthena]

Tagging sederunt who may be able to help.

Are you sure there is a Will? Genealogy companies also search for possible beneficiaries of people who have died intestate. The government term for this in Scotland is 'Ultimus Haeres' (the equivalent of Bona Vacantia estates in England). Ultimus Haeres | KLTR

The National Will Register, despite its official sounding name, is just a private commercial company that stores willis for anyone who pays them to do the storage. It's nothing to do with the government, has no official status, and most wills are not listed there. No harm in asking but don't be surprised if they have no record of your father's Will.

In England there is an online record of all grants of Probate published by the government which anyone can download. However it records probate for Wills in England and Wales only. I don't know if there is any equivalent in Scotland.

[Lawrence33]

Thanks Pallasathena, I am not certain there is a will but it's quite likely I think. Certainly myself and my sister are the only close surviving relatives. I need to allow for both options in my search for information (with and without will) I know about the online grant of probate website but that doesn't cover Scotland and I am not sure there is an equivalent here in Scotland? I wondered if contacting the local sheriff court is the nearest thing to it in Scotland?

[sederunt]

Solicitors and executors often use genealogy companies to trace beneficiaries. In those cases, the cost should be borne by the estate. So in your situation where you have been asked to sign away some of your legacy, this looks more like an ultimus haeres intestacy situation (or suspected intestacy).

The National Will Register website, private company; I don’t think is much used in Scotland.

Will your sister have been in regular contact with your father? If so this is a bit puzzling.

You could check the KLTR (King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remambracer) website to see whether father’s estate is listed there https://www.kltr.gov.uk/ultimus-haeres/find-an-estate/.

If not ultimus haeres listed, you could ask the commissary department of the sheriff court in the area where your father was domiciled, whether there is a Grant of Confirmation or an executor dative application available.

[Lawrence33]

Thank you Sederunt. My sister lives near to my father but we are not on good terms so she would not be keen to help me or involve me in this process, she will certainly be a beneficiary to the estate but would be keen to exclude me. It sounds like I need to contact the sheriff court. Would it be worth calling all the law firms in the area to see if they are handling the will if there is one?

[Lawrence33]

I have checked the KLTR and no mention there

[sederunt]

I suspect that your results, if you were to approach law firms, will be dull thuds.

You could ask the sheriff court for a copy of the Grant of Confirmation - this is a public document once issued. If not available, you can lodge a caveat which obliges the court to notify you if an application for Confirmation is submitted to the court. A caveat stays in force for one year.

Of course not all estates involve the issue of Confirmation, but if father had sole house ownership, Confirmation would be necessary.

[Lawrence33]

PallasAthena and sederunt Thank you for your help. I contacted the sheriff court and they had no knowledge of a grant of confirmation but I have now been contacted by a solicitor dealing with it. They were notified of my search by the national will register and then got in touch with me so that is great.