Beneficiaries

[Mikecharles]

Good Morning,1st time on here,hoping for some advice.
My father passed away Jan 2017, 4 days before he passed a new Will was created,at the time he was staying at my stepsisters,on the day in question I was going to visit him and she phoned me to say he was very poorly,sleeping all the time due to being on morphine and unable to receive a visit,I the fore didn't see him,but on that very same day she had solicitors doing a home visit to do a Will. My father was illiterate and always said to me that he had done a Will and told me where it was in his house and that I would get the house and the land would get split 3 ways between me and my 2 stepsisters,I was his only biological child. As both my stepsisters had property given to them and this house was to be mine,the front door had been changed literally 2 months prior to my fathers death,I always had a key to the house as I lived there for 40 years. 2 days before he died I went out to my stepsisters house to see him and she said why can't you just look at him through the window,words were exchanged and I went into see my father,who wad struggling to talk but managed to ask me if I had keys to house,but he looked scared. Anyhow 3 days after this he passed,my stepsister didn't even ring me to tell me,it was only my instinct to ring and see how he was,is when she told me had had died.
Fast forward,we get a copy of Will created at her house,which is more favourable to her and her family,both herself and daughter are Executors,the house and land to be sold,with myself and her getting 35%% share and my other stepsister getting 10% and the stepsister who is Executor her 2 children getting 10% each.
The evening of the day he died said sister was inmy fathers house collecting paperwork and wouldn't let me in and I believe the original Will my father was telling me about was removed from the property.
This has caused a big fallout and we do not speak so communications between me as a benificiary and knowing what is happening is difficult,my oldest stepsister has recently died so I am fighting this on my own. So the house has been sold and the funds are in the Executors account,the land was for sale with offers,but she has accepted a lesser offer with reduced uplift and overage in % in favour of her son having the land,the Estate Agent was not made aware this offer she accepted was in fact her son,so feel she is not acting appropriately and fairly in the interests of all beneficiaries. No payments have been made to myself and the monies as previously said are in the Executors Account,repeated requests for updates on what is happening,what has been paid out and just expenditures from the estate are being ignored.
what would my next step be,as I know she can be manipulative,deceitful and dishonest.

[Kati]

Tagging Peridot ... one for you I think xx

[Peridot]

Hi MikeCharles,

A really distressing situation for you. So do you believe the last Will may not have been entirely your father's wishes?

You mention a solicitor attended the property to take will instructions. If that is the case then they would have had to make an assessment of your father's legal mental capacity, for which they would make an attendance note. It is not uncommon for people to amend their wills in the last stages of their lives however it is even more important that an assessment of their capacity to do so, is carried out and documented. Do you know what firm the solicitor was from? You can request a copy of the file by what is called a Larke v Nugus request. Has the Grant of Probate been issued? If not it may be necessary to obtain a caveat or standing search to prevent or notify you once the Grant is issued or applied for. This link may help: https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inh...representation The government website also provides information on valuing the estate and how to deal with issues so worth having a surf around it.

If the Grant has already been issued (which if they have sold the property already is likely) you only have a 6 month window from the Grant being issued to bring certain claims against the estate, although there are some exceptions. You need to get some advice on your options.

The other issue is the sale of the land to a relative of your step sister at a reduced figure from what you would expect the land was worth. The valuations of any land, property etc would have to be carried out for the Grant to be obtained. The figure that is placed on the land would be the likely value it should be sold for on the open market if it had sold on the day your father died. Of course values can go up and down depending on the market situation at the time of selling but a significant reduction in the value would raise eyebrows particularly when the buyer is a relative.

Unfortunately until the estate has been administered as a residuary beneficiary you do not have a right to see any estate accounts. However if you suspect the Will is not legal or there has been some shenanigans with the executor dealing with the assets there are ways to look into this further.

I would suggest that you do need to get some face to face advice to see what options you have. The cost of pursuing this could outweigh the benefit that could be achieved if you were successful in demonstrating either the Will is not valid or the executor has not dealt with the estate correctly.

I would prepare a timeline of events, before getting some advice. Do you have a copy of the old Will or could you get one? I suspect not from your post but if you can do take that along with you. You may be able to get a free half hour or reduced fee first appointment to discuss any options you may have.