Forged will by brothers partner

[alexjones]

Hi All

My father passed away last year.

His will was re-written within a few days of his death, by a solicitor, whom was apparently a friend and has left everything to my brother and my step mother.

The person signing on my father's behalf was my bothers partner, because his condition meant he could not write himself. (Muscular Dystrophy)

My brother's partner was hired as a care worker only weeks before my fathers passing, but my brother and step father are claiming that this lady is not my brothers partner, merely a care worker.

My father had many self hired care workers so while this wasn't unusual for people to come and go, it was evident my brother had done so in order to facilitate this recent wills creation being signed by a "neutral" third party then claiming she is meerly a worker.

This lady now lives with my brother and has been with him for only a couple of years. On paper, the will was "drawn up correctly" (Although no golden rule, and both beneficiaries were present during creation) but there is no "proof" that this lady is my brothers parter to help my fraudulent and undue influence claim.

Please could someone advise what legal ground I have to prove this is my brothers partner and that they live together, to take this to a fraudulent claim. Not to mention the age of the lady (around 20) signing a will for a 62 year old man, surely there should be some legal ground based on her age and length of time working for / knowing my father?

Thank you

[Peridot]

Hi Alexjones,

Sorry to hear of your loss. As you are already aware it is difficult to show undue influence and or fraud in relation to a claim against an estate. Just picking up on a comment later in your post, did the lady who was his carer and allegedly your brother's partner inherit under the Will and was she also one of the witnesses at the Will signing? If that is the case she would be unable to inherit any legacy left to her.

I'm not sure just because your brother lives with a lady who was also your father's carer would be an issue in itself. Your father, provided he had mental capacity to do so and understood what his Will said and what would happen to his estate on his death, is allowed to leave his estate to whoever he wishes I'm afraid. Provided the Will complies with the legal requirements and it can be shown that he understood the ramifications of his decision it is up to him.

I appreciate your concerns over why the Will was changed and the timing of the change. Have you made a Larke v Nugus request of the solicitors to obtain copies of the attendance notes and reasons for your father instructing for the will to be prepared? You mention the 'golden rule' so I you may have some knowledge of what should happen in certain circumstances. Have you received any advice from a contested probate lawyer on this? Do you know if there was a previous Will and what that said?