Mutual Will

[LastLoser]

My mother left the family when we were toddlers and remarried. When I reached sixteen my mother made contact and we met up once every two or three years. By all accounts she kept our existence completely secret from her husbands entire family and was easily able to do so because they lived in another part of the country. I never met any of her husbands family as a result of this

Approximately two years ago on a visit to us in London without her husband my mother said should anything happen to her I should contact her solicitor and she gave me her solicitors name and address. She did not say what type of will was in place but I'm assuming it must have been a Mutual Will because there was no point in mentioning it because in most cases everything goes directly to the surviving spouse. Also they had no children together so I'm sure she had a Mutual Will in place so that when her surviving husband died any property would be past on to me.

In December last year her husband phoned to say my mother had died and he would let us know the arrangements for the funeral. He did not do this and we found out the funeral was held on 10th January.. As you can understand I was astonished by this because it was such a cruel thing to do. Also I was wondering why would he do such a cruel thing like this. As a result of this, I remembered what my mum had said on her visit to us approximately two years ago and emailed her solicitor and have not received a reply. No one, not even her husband are replying to me.

Obviously her husband is the executor of the will and decides who knows what and when. This means he could potentially ignore a Mutual Will that is in place and write another will.

What I need to know : Are there Safeguards in place to protect the interests of beneficiaries of Mutual Wills ? - How do I go forwards with this if both the executor and solicitor ignore my calls ? - Should the solicitor and/or executor give me information about a Mutual Will if I'm a beneficiary and are they legally bound to do so ? - Basically I need to know how I go forwards with this and if property is held in trust as part of the mutual will how do I make sure it does not get sold on.

Many thanks in advance.

[Pezza54]

Changes to a mutual will can be made but it requires the presence and consent of both parties. As your mother has died the mutual will cannot be changed.
You should not assume your mother made a mutual will and that everything goes to the surviving spouse. She may have made her own will and made you a beneficiary.
Once probate is granted the deceased's will becomes a public document so you should search the probate registry online. As your mother only passed away last December it may be too soon. For a small payment you can complete a form to ensure you are notified as soon as probate is granted.