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When my dad died 20 years ago, he wrote a 1-page will leaving a good cash sum to me and he left the rest of his estate including his house to his wife (my step mother).
His will never specified what was in the rest of his estate apart from the house, and I wasn’t upset at the time because my stepmother was 20 years younger than him and she worked on a minimum wage, so I was just happy that he left her the means to live comfortably in a nice house.
My stepmother died recently. When I saw her will I was shocked! It turns out my dad had a number of foreign bank accounts (he wasn’t British) and share portfolios now worth more than the house, all of which are still in his name 20 years after he died and worth £2 million!
My stepmother had never transferred ownership of any of these accounts into her own name before she died. I’m not even sure she knew they existed! They're all still in my dad's name.
My stepmother's will left just 10% of her estate to my children. The other 90% she left to her niece, who is also executor. All the assets in the estate came from my dad and are now going to someone we have never met!
Does the fact that these accounts are still in my dad's name help in any way? Is there any basis for me or my children to claim back my dad’s assets instead of this niece?
His will never specified what was in the rest of his estate apart from the house, and I wasn’t upset at the time because my stepmother was 20 years younger than him and she worked on a minimum wage, so I was just happy that he left her the means to live comfortably in a nice house.
My stepmother died recently. When I saw her will I was shocked! It turns out my dad had a number of foreign bank accounts (he wasn’t British) and share portfolios now worth more than the house, all of which are still in his name 20 years after he died and worth £2 million!
My stepmother had never transferred ownership of any of these accounts into her own name before she died. I’m not even sure she knew they existed! They're all still in my dad's name.
My stepmother's will left just 10% of her estate to my children. The other 90% she left to her niece, who is also executor. All the assets in the estate came from my dad and are now going to someone we have never met!
Does the fact that these accounts are still in my dad's name help in any way? Is there any basis for me or my children to claim back my dad’s assets instead of this niece?
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