Beneficiary of will died before completion

[Cathie1969]

Hi there

A friend of mine died in May and he left a will in which there were 10 beneficiaries, each to receive 10% of his estate (myself included).

Back in September 2017 my friend's father died and he was a beneficiary of his estate which had been left in equal shares to each of the 4 children.

At the time of my friend's death, his father's estate hadn't been settled (paid out, not sure of the correct term).

I assumed that the proceeds of his father's estate would now drop in to and become part of his estate to be distributed as per the terms of his will.

The solicitors who are dealing as the Executor of the will haven't mentioned this in any of their updates. My concern is that they are not aware of this part of the estate (my friend was not at all close with his relatives) and something untoward is going on.

Would the solicitor automatically know about this part of his estate or do they need to be informed of it? Can the family distribute the proceeds of the father's estate between themselves now that their brother has died? The father died in Scotland so appreciate the law may differ.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Cathie

[Amethyst]

I'm not sure how it would differ in Scotland, but generally, there's a clause as to what would happen should one of the beneficiaries not survive the deceased past something like 30 days … normally the inheritance would go to the deceased beneficiaries estate and be distributed in accordance with the terms of his will, but sometimes, particularly if he passed within 30 days, it could go back to the estate to be distributed between the 3 surviving beneficiaries. It really depends on the wording of the will.

Tagging Peridot

[Cathie1969]

I'm not sure how it would differ in Scotland, but generally, there's a clause as to what would happen should one of the beneficiaries not survive the deceased past something like 30 days … normally the inheritance would go to the deceased beneficiaries estate and be distributed in accordance with the terms of his will, but sometimes, particularly if he passed within 30 days, it could go back to the estate to be distributed between the 3 surviving beneficiaries. It really depends on the wording of the will.

Tagging Peridot

Thanks. It was more than 30 days. So we need to see a copy of his father's will to see if there was a wording to this effect?

[Amethyst]

Pretty much yes.
What makes you feel something untoward is going on? Have you asked your friends executors ( the solicitors) whether they have heard anything from your friends fathers executors or obtained a copy of the fathers will ? They might just be able to clear things up for you.

[Cathie1969]

I asked the solicitor a couple of months ago if anything had been received but she didn't mention it in her response. I then received an update letter which outlined what the estate was made up of but it didn't include the father's monies. I have emailed again today to ask if they have any paperwork pertaining to that father's will. I will wait to hear what she says but I would have thought it would have been mentioned in the communications before now if she were also dealing with this as part of his estate.

I just have one of those feelings, I knew my friend for a long time and was very aware of the relationship with his family and they weren't the closest. One of his brother's is the executor of the father's will, maybe they are thinking they would just keep the father's estate in the family. I can't really ask them what's going on, or maybe I could!!!

[2222]

Would the simplest be to get a copy of the father's will from the probate registry? The probate records should also give you an idea of how much your friend was due from his father's estate, ie a quarter of the estate less tax and expenses. Of course, the father's estate may not have been distributed yet. I find it hard to believe that executors would simply steal a quarter share, but ...

As a beneficiary of your friend's estate all you can really do is warn the executors that this amount is due from the father's estate. It's up to them to chase it up.

[Cathie1969]

Yes, that's what I'll do. I've ordered his birth certificate so I should be able to get his father's details from there to trace the will.

Plus, I'm only going off what he told me, if relations were that bad with his family, he may have been cut out of the will!!

[des8]

Search probate records here: https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inh...robate-records

[Cathie1969]

He lived in Scotland so I think I need to apply to the Sherrif Court?

[des8]

OOPs.. missed the comment in first post.
Yes, you would need to apply to the sheriff court where the will was registered

[Cathie1969]

Hi all, I heard back from the solicitor this morning and she said that it is also being dealt with. She didn't elaborate but it's in her hands.

Thanks for all your help.

[Peridot]

Glad it's getting sorted. Sorry couldn't pop in over weekend.