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Hello all,
My mother passed away on 4th January, I have been appointed 1 of 2 Executors (the other is her friend of many years). She had a Will in place dated 2010 that was fully signed etc, which included beneficiaries alive at that time (2 children, 5 grandchildren). Since then, the family has grown and now consists of 2 children, 5 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren.
She was in the process of changing her will to include 4 of the great-grandchildren, but there was still no mentioned of the 5th great-grandchild. Her new draft Will arrived the day after her death, and has not been signed so I believe it is not a legal document but would give an indication of her latest wishes. Financially there is considerable difference in the 2 documents, and as one of the primary benefactors I want to avoid any suggestion of a conflict of interest, and potentially any contests.
The original will provided a set sum to be paid to the grandchildren, and all other monies to be split between myself and my sister. There were a number of gifts of jewellery to the women.
The new document provides for my sister and I to have 50% share of the sale of the house. All other monies are to be shared equally between the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Again, the jewellery has been gifted to the women (including children)
I am in a quandary over how to handle the will and new document, in regard to how much credence should I apply with the new proposal. If I stick to the original will, then I think the grandchildren (all bar 2 are directly related to my sister) could contest it as the difference may be around £18k per beneficiary. If I go by the unsigned document, then my sister could contest it as she (and myself) would receive approx £100k less.
Any advice?
My mother passed away on 4th January, I have been appointed 1 of 2 Executors (the other is her friend of many years). She had a Will in place dated 2010 that was fully signed etc, which included beneficiaries alive at that time (2 children, 5 grandchildren). Since then, the family has grown and now consists of 2 children, 5 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren.
She was in the process of changing her will to include 4 of the great-grandchildren, but there was still no mentioned of the 5th great-grandchild. Her new draft Will arrived the day after her death, and has not been signed so I believe it is not a legal document but would give an indication of her latest wishes. Financially there is considerable difference in the 2 documents, and as one of the primary benefactors I want to avoid any suggestion of a conflict of interest, and potentially any contests.
The original will provided a set sum to be paid to the grandchildren, and all other monies to be split between myself and my sister. There were a number of gifts of jewellery to the women.
The new document provides for my sister and I to have 50% share of the sale of the house. All other monies are to be shared equally between the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Again, the jewellery has been gifted to the women (including children)
I am in a quandary over how to handle the will and new document, in regard to how much credence should I apply with the new proposal. If I stick to the original will, then I think the grandchildren (all bar 2 are directly related to my sister) could contest it as the difference may be around £18k per beneficiary. If I go by the unsigned document, then my sister could contest it as she (and myself) would receive approx £100k less.
Any advice?
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