Will and suspicious Executor (Brother) activites.

[Blindman70]

Do you know who prepared the will? If a lawyer or so-called will writer, consider writing a 'Larke v Nugus' letter.

Thanks for the reply.
Yes it was a Will writer and I have looked into the Larke v Nurgus Letter.

I see that

The solicitor who drafted the Will has a duty of confidentiality to the deceased, which on death passes to the Executor, and the solicitor will need the consent of the Executor before providing a response to the request.

So if i get the other Executor to reverse her "reserve the Power" decision can she consent to the request or would it have to be both of them?
Because I can guarantee Brother will not allow it.

And would I be correct in saying I-as a layperson-could write such a letter?

[Blindman70]

Who are the named witnesses on the will? Can you speak to them about your aunt's state of mind when she signed her will?

Life can seem so unfair sometimes.
There was a case where a daughter-in-law worked tirelessly helping her elderly mother-in-law with day to day jobs. This help continued after the death of the son who was the daughter-in-law's husband.
Unfortunately the mother-in-law had not made a will and the daughter-in-law did not have any children.
Under the rules of intestacy the mother-in-law's estate passed to her surviving children, including the deceased son's share, meaning the daughter-in-law received nothing.
The daughter-in-law could have legally challenged the distribution of the estate by the rules of intestacy under the Inheritance Act and may have won her case but she didn't have the funds to do so.

I do not know who the witnesse were as:-

1. I and my Brother only have Copies of the will which do not include the Witness signatures.
2 None of the local beneficiaries of the will were in the room and obviously none of them could be witnesses, even though my Brother asked them to be!
3. My brother claims he does not know

At the time of second will writing we would have been vsiting\talking to her quite a lot and she was always seemed to be "of sound mind" During the few bouts of ilness she became less coherent.

[Pezza54]

There is an in-depth article about the Larke v Nugus letter at www.pearsonlegal.co.uk The article includes a list of information that the letter should ask for.
The Law Society Disputed Wills: guidance states that the practitioner is under no duty to comply with the request, although the practitioner does have a duty to make every effort to avoid costly litigatio9n.

[Pezza54]

If a will is not not properly witnessed it is likely to be invalid.
As executor your brother should request the original will (not a copy) from the will writer. He is going to need the original will for the probate application.

[Pezza54]

My apologies. I missed the fact that your brother appointed a solicitor to manage the estate, acting on his behalf as attorney.
So it is this solicitor that needs and may already have the original will. If your brother passed the original will to the solicitor, before doing so made a photocopy for himself but left out the signatures page. That would explain why the signatures page is missing on your copy of the will

[Blindman70]

So it looks like my first course of action is to Wrtie a Larke v Nugus letter asking pertinent question s about the will writing porcess..

I could DIY at no cost
Or
I could engage a solicitor to do so-Quoted £750 +VAT

Seems a no brainer to me, though would like an opinion as to why I should use a solicitor for this simple step???

[Pezza54]

You stated that all other beneficiaries (excluding your brother) are angry ("fuming") about the contents of the new will.
Your aunt's friend, the second executor who gave up her executor duties with power reserved, is a beneficiary and due to inherit £116K under the terms of the will.
Although your brother appointed a solicitor to manage the estate, your aunt's friend could have remained as an executor. You said she was timid so she was probably amenable to giving up executor duties which can be time consuming.
What makes you think she will take up the reigns again if you ask her to? If a dear friend of mine bequeathed me £116k I'd be over the moon and would not want to rock the boat.
I might be cynical but I suspect if you wrote a letter to the solicitor asking for info about the will writing process, you would get a short non committal reply.
You could spend £750 on a solicitor's letter but as an informative reply is not definite you could be wasting your money.

[Blindman70]

You stated that all other beneficiaries (excluding your brother) are angry ("fuming") about the contents of the new will.
Your aunt's friend, the second executor who gave up her executor duties with power reserved, is a beneficiary and due to inherit £116K under the terms of the will.
Although your brother appointed a solicitor to manage the estate, your aunt's friend could have remained as an executor. You said she was timid so she was probably amenable to giving up executor duties which can be time consuming.
What makes you think she will take up the reigns again if you ask her to? If a dear friend of mine bequeathed me £116k I'd be over the moon and would not want to rock the boat.
I might be cynical but I suspect if you wrote a letter to the solicitor asking for info about the will writing process, you would get a short non committal reply.
You could spend £750 on a solicitor's letter but as an informative reply is not definite you could be wasting your money.

Thanks for the reply.

The timid ex-executor is a beneficiary and has been gifted £10K. So has her husband so they could be £20K richer.
The TOTAL to ALL (15) beneficiaries is £116,000. Except of course the Executor who will pocket £100,000 minium +£2000 for his wife.

"I might be cynical but I suspect if you wrote a letter to the solicitor asking for info about the will writing process, you would get a short non committal reply."

I might be cynical too but as I read it they have to provide ANSWERS to my questions.and provide the Will file-which if I read it correclty should have notes about the will meeting and what was discussed, explained etc. which is really all I am asking.
Why should it be a secret???

[Pezza54]

Very confusing, "the beneficiaries get £116K" Neither the words "each" or "share"
As I thought you were getting a lot more money under the will you should be aware that you could lose most of your inheritance if not all of it in an unsuccessful claim challenging the will under the Inheritance Act.
Where did you read that the will writer has to provide answers to your Larke v Nugus letter?
The will writer has a duty of confidentiality to the testator now passed to the solicitor executor.

[Blindman70]

Where did you read that the will writer has to provide answers to your Larke v Nugus letter?

Every reference to it on line?
Try reading it yourself ?

[Pezza54]

http://www.pearsonlegal.co.uk/blog/n...-nugus-request
"Can a Larke v Nugus request be ignored or refused?"
Law Society states "You are under no duty to comply with the request"

[Blindman70]

http://www.pearsonlegal.co.uk/blog/n...-nugus-request
"Can a Larke v Nugus request be ignored or refused?"
Law Society states "You are under no duty to comply with the request"

You conveniently did not copy and past the NEXT sentence
"However, you do have a duty to make every effort to avoid potentially costly litigation.’"

It is not a "slam dunk" by any means but it is good practice.

[Pezza54]

Agreed.
If everything was above board when the will writer drafted the will, then there is no reason why you shouldn't receive the information you request.

But if there is something amiss, and you are provided with details of this misdemeanor, the will writer has sent you ammunition to start a costly court claim.

[Blindman70]

Agreed.
If everything was above board when the will writer drafted the will, then there is no reason why you shouldn't receive the information you request.

But if there is something amiss, and you are provided with details of this misdemeanor, the will writer has sent you ammunition to start a costly court claim.

Thanks for the reply.

I am not really looking for a misdemeanor, just the facts that the testator knew what the financial implications were when writing the will in this format.

If there is some amiss then I can make a decision wethere to proceed or not

[Blindman70]

So I've sent off a Larke V Nugus letter.

If I raise a Caveat today on-line when does it become effective? (Thinking Xmas hols delay?)

Would I incur any costs if (when) I get a Warning from the executor to remove it?

Would this open us up to moderation as opposed to court?

Thanks