Son left money in great-grandparents will. Deceased's daughter contesting will.

[Reolink123]

Hi

I wonder if anyone could offer advice.

My son has been left around £12000 in his great-grandparents will. The remainder of the estate has been left to 1 of the deceased's children, who is also an executor. Another of the deceased children is contesting the will as they were left nothing. They are contesting under the Inheritance Act for financial provision. They didn't have a relationship with the deceased for over 30 years, until the last year of their life when they visited them occasionally.

Court papers have been served and we are at the point of completing our 'Acknowledgement of Service' and returning it.

I have spoken to a couple of solicitors about this but its looking like its going to be quite costly defending this. I have been quoted 4 - 5 hours to look at the paperwork and have a telephone meeting to give initial advice based on what he's read. Thats around £1300 just to have the paperwork looked at, does that seem about right? As its more of a feud between siblings and we're just caught in the middle we would like to keep our involvement to a minimum but I realise we can't avoid it completely unfortunately.

I have a couple of questions -

Included in the paperwork is an income and expenditure form for the claimant, this is not completely or correctly filled in. There are parts blank where their mortgage details should be (to be honest I'm not sure they actually have a mortgage even though in their whiteness statement they claim they have). The address on the form is also incorrect, its their old address and the new address is mentioned on the witness statement. How can a court accept a claim against people when it looks to me like they're trying to cover up their accurate financial position? Is this allowed?

In the paperwork it states that they are applying to the court before the date is too far after probate was granted - 6 months. Sixth months after probate is 13th July, but the court claim is date stamped 15th July, 2 days later, does this matter? Is the time frame strict?

When we return the 'AOS' I understand that we have to send it to the court and also a copy to the solicitor of the person contesting. Do we also have to send a copy to the other people named in the claim, the executors?

I would be really grateful for any advice.

Thanks

[Pezza54]

I am having a problem working out your role in the claim
Who are the executors?

£1300 for telephone advice sounds too much. Is the advice going to be confirmed in writing. It is easy to miss things said in a phone call

There have been cases where the strict 6 month time limit to start a claim under the 1975 Inheritance Act has been extended. Please read the article "Inheritance 1975 Act - extending the time limit for bringing a claim" at www.stephens-scown.co.uk

The claimant should not assume the time limit will be extended, nor should the defendant rely on the late service of claim as a defence. In the end, the court decides

You need good legal advice quickly and not long to prepare the defence, if the advice is to defend the claim and not negotiate. You could receive legal advice that an application is made to court for a stay in proceedings to provide time to negotiate/arbitrate

[Reolink123]

Thanks for your reply, sorry I didn't make my position clear, I was trying not to ramble on but I'm not sure I achieved that lol.

My role is that of a 'litigation friend' as my son is under 18.

The executors are the other beneficiary and his wife. We don't have any relationship with them so I am unable to ask if they have legal representation and what their position is - although I am sure they will dispute the claim as they have so far refused to enter in to any conversation with the claimants solicitor.

I am waiting on another solicitor to get back to me with a quote, I'm hoping its a bit less than £1300.

Does the claimants solicitor not have any obligation to the court to provide accurate information is contained in the signed witness statement and proof that is is correct? It seems very unfair that my son will have to pay to defend his claim when the claimants claims do not look accurate?

Thanks again

[Pezza54]

Has your son received his inheritance?

If the executors thought there was a possibility of a claim they should have waited longer before distributing money, 10 months after probate is the norm
If the claim succeeds the defendant beneficiaries may be liable for legal costs. If it loses in court the claimant will be liable for legal costs

You understand why I was having a problem with your role. I thought you might be an executor.

As one of the executors is also a beneficiary and has a conflict of interest, they should ideally renounce their executor role. They would be in a better position to defend the claim as a beneficiary

It makes sense to contact the main beneficiary to discuss a joint defence, saving on legal fees.

[Pezza54]

Even if the executor who is also a beneficiary renounces their role, there is still a conflict of interest. The main beneficiary is married to the remaining executor.
You can see why claims under the Inheritance Act involve specialist contentious probate lawyers

[Reolink123]

Hi

Nothing has been paid out of the estate, the house has only just been put on the market.

If the executor has a solicitor, I'm assuming they will tell them that they have a conflict of interest? I can't see them wanting to step down at all.

Its all very complicated, I'm hopeful one of the solicitors Ive contacted will come back to me tomorrow.

Thanks for your input

[Pezza54]

Beneficiaries defend the claim. Executors act passively and impartially.
The beneficiaries defence should be very similar so it makes no sense at all defendants having their own lawyer
The main beneficiary stands to lose the most by far, so your son should be tagging on to their defence

I have found an informative article "Inheritance Act Claims - Adult Child (Claimant)" at www.rothleylaw.com

This article should provide you with valuable info on Ih Act claims for your discussions with the lawyers and the main beneficiary

[Pezza54]

Your son received a pecuniary legacy - a fixed sum of money
This type of legacy takes precedence over the estate residuary

A defence for your son should be that any award for the claimant should taken from the residuary

[Pezza54]

Now that I have had a chance to read rothleylaw's article in detail, including historic cases, imo the main beneficiary should mediate with the claimant in an attempt to find an amicable agreement, avoiding costly court litigation

[Reolink123]

Thank you very much for your replies and information. We have now instructed a solicitor to deal with this for us so hopefully it can all be sorted out.

Thanks again