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Hello all, this is my first post and I would really value some advice please.
My father died in December 2020 from alcoholic liver disease. He was an alcoholic for years, although functioning for the majority of this time. He was married to my Mum for 15 years but divorced in 2008. He met someone new in 2013, married her in 2015, but subsequently separated from her in 2016. Let’s call her Mary. They never divorced.
My father wrote a Will in early 2019 which specified he wanted to leave his estate, comprising monies and a small percentage share of a house he had with my Mum (in a mesher order), to my siblings and I (4 of us). He specifically wrote Mary out of it. Witnesses of the Will confirm he was of sound mind when he signed this Will and was not intoxicated at the time. However the Will was never signed by a solicitor.
Mary has entered a caveat on the Will. She has gone through a solicitor and has said she questions the validity of the Will due to him being an alcoholic. They have requested medical records.
Mary and her solicitor have also, in the same aggressive letter, asked for half of the total estate (worth £50k) as a settlement under the Inheritance Act. They know full well we are unable to offer this - there is not enough cash in the estate as the majority of it is tied up in the house under the mesher order. Mum still lives in said house and does not want to have to sell up. When my father died, me and my siblings agreed we would not ask for our “share” of the house - we want Mum to be able to stay and keep the house as if it were her own.
Mary has also lied about the timeline of her relationship with our father, stating they lived together longer than they actually did. She has gone 2 years over than the actual date. We can prove this as our father had rental tenancies for his own place during this time.
Can anybody advise/share their opinion on whether Mary might actually have any grounds in which to claim money from us? We are very worried. I am the eldest sibling and my other three siblings are not in a good financial position at all. I am having to use my future house deposit to fund our legal fees. Considering the monies in the estate total only £25k ish, it seems absolutely crazy for Mary to pursue this.
My father died in December 2020 from alcoholic liver disease. He was an alcoholic for years, although functioning for the majority of this time. He was married to my Mum for 15 years but divorced in 2008. He met someone new in 2013, married her in 2015, but subsequently separated from her in 2016. Let’s call her Mary. They never divorced.
My father wrote a Will in early 2019 which specified he wanted to leave his estate, comprising monies and a small percentage share of a house he had with my Mum (in a mesher order), to my siblings and I (4 of us). He specifically wrote Mary out of it. Witnesses of the Will confirm he was of sound mind when he signed this Will and was not intoxicated at the time. However the Will was never signed by a solicitor.
Mary has entered a caveat on the Will. She has gone through a solicitor and has said she questions the validity of the Will due to him being an alcoholic. They have requested medical records.
Mary and her solicitor have also, in the same aggressive letter, asked for half of the total estate (worth £50k) as a settlement under the Inheritance Act. They know full well we are unable to offer this - there is not enough cash in the estate as the majority of it is tied up in the house under the mesher order. Mum still lives in said house and does not want to have to sell up. When my father died, me and my siblings agreed we would not ask for our “share” of the house - we want Mum to be able to stay and keep the house as if it were her own.
Mary has also lied about the timeline of her relationship with our father, stating they lived together longer than they actually did. She has gone 2 years over than the actual date. We can prove this as our father had rental tenancies for his own place during this time.
Can anybody advise/share their opinion on whether Mary might actually have any grounds in which to claim money from us? We are very worried. I am the eldest sibling and my other three siblings are not in a good financial position at all. I am having to use my future house deposit to fund our legal fees. Considering the monies in the estate total only £25k ish, it seems absolutely crazy for Mary to pursue this.
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