caveator is asking for copy of the will - do we have a right to withhold

[hullensien]

Hi everyone

We filed for probate only to find another family member had already filed a caveat in advance without knowing


The testator had an Accountancy company handling his financial and administrative affairs. The executor who is handling the probate is employed by them and met him on a fairly regular basis to look at his finances so I would assume she would not merely be classed as a “lay executor”.

From the exchanges to date, the caveator was only interested in obtaining a copy of the will and advised more than once that unless she was given a copy of the will she would not lift the caveat.

The executor has advised the caveator that GDPR ceases upon death, but client confidentiality extends beyond that and that she is bound by that confidentiality. We are aware that legally we are not obligated to share the will before probate is granted but some threads on here and say it’s advisable to share the will - what about in this case where it’s an instruction from the testator?

The testator had advised that the will was not to be distributed prior to the granting of probate and the executor has repeatedly advised the caveator that she is merely following his instructions. Would this be grounds for not sharing the will?

The executor has also advised the caveator that if her aim is to see the will that can be accomplished simply by removing the caveat.


The paper trail is briefly this

Caveat lodged 2 weeks before probate application - caveator at that point not aware;
a) whether or not a will existed
b) who had applied for the probate
c) who the executors were


1Letter from executor to caveator advising their position and what can be done to resolve the situation - at that point caveator would now be aware there was a will
2Response from caveator stating usual coercion and vulnerability
3Response from executor advising her position as accountant and asked who caveator thought had coerced him
4Response from caveator now stating their rights a family member
5Response from executor advising legally not obligated to share will and was under direct instruction from testator not to do so until probate granted
6Response from caveator asking for info about drafting of will including “am I named in the will” - thats cleary an inheritance act issue is it not?
7Response from executor advising she could not share details as confidentiality still applied as he was a client, and, due to the fact we had reached an impasse a warning was issued

We were asking for guidance on another matter from probate registry and they advised us caveat is now permanent - but we have not had a copy of the appearance served on us yet


Any suggestions on how to proceed both with issuing a copy of the will and to date a lack of a served appearance


Thanks in advance

[atticus]

Not engaging constructively is a great way to ensure that positions become entrenched, hostility increases, cost mounts up and relationships are harder to mend.

I would just supply a opy of the will, giving a period of say a month to withdraw the caveat or explain in detail the reasons for not doing so.

[hullensien]

Not engaging constructively is a great way to ensure that positions become entrenched, hostility increases, cost mounts up and relationships are harder to mend.

I would just supply a copy of the will, giving a period of say a month to withdraw the caveat or explain in detail the reasons for not doing so.

Hi

The executor works for an accountancy practice that the deceased retained to look after his admin and financial dealings - he instructed her that the will/contents were not to be disclosed until it had been through probate. Executor advised caveator that client confidentiality extends after death and was under instruction. She has stuck to her guns, so caveator has still not seen will.

We have now moved to the appearance stage - it took the caveator almost 4 weeks to send us a copy of the appearance after it had been filed

The reasons given in the caveat citation are at best speculative, and have no grounds, and are easily countered

However the Caveator has lied with regard to her interest in the estate.



She is claiming she would be entitled to inherit under rules of intestacy. However there is an earlier will. The firm of solicitors who compiled the earlier will have advised it is valid if the current will is deemed invalid. The caveator is aware of this will - and it is with 99.9% certainty that she has seen the earlier will, but also, when we had written dialogue before the caveat was sealed, she specifically asked if there was another will (despite already knowing - she wanted to see if we knew) and we advised that there was one.

Also, by claiming she is entitled to a share of the estate under intestacy, is this not an Inheritance act claim? The interest in the estate is along the lines of “i am the daughter (she words it to sound as if she is the only one - she is not) and would be entitled to a share of his estate under the rules of intestacy should the (latest) will be set aside”

She does not stand to inherit under the earlier will so frankly I can’t see the point of challenging this one - she doesn’t know the contents but would not inherit even in the highly unlikely event she succeeded in getting it deemed . She is not the sharpest tool in the box, and I suspect someone is loading the gun for her.

If we can prove to the registrar that the caveator has lied and has no interest in the estate ie a copy of the earlier will, letter from solicitor advising will is valid, correspondence trail proving caveator was aware of earlier will and therefore deceased is not intestate - could we asked the registrar to strike out the caveat?

I am also aware its a criminal offence under Fraud Act 2006 to lie on an appearance form - we can evidence that

What is the best course of action? Complain to the probate registrar or lay it down to the caveator and ask her to sign the consent to withdraw form

Any advice would be welcome

Thanks in advance

[atticus]

You need to take legal advice, laying out the full facts to the person advising you. I recommend consulting a solicitor who isa member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

[Tofros]

Was the will prepared by a firm of solicitors? If so, the caveator could obtain details about the circumstances in which it was prepared and it’s provisions by making a Larke v Nugus request of the firm that prepared it, plus potentially get a copy of the will and the will file. They may have to pay a fee for this, and the executor may need to agree to it being replied to, but it would be a way of finding out what is in the will without the executor breaching their duty of confidentiality. If the same firm prepared the previous will the request could cover both so they would then be certain they had no entitlement under either will and be in a position to consider their remaining options. It may perhaps be a ploy to buy time to prepare to submit inheritance act claim for which there is a time limit of 6 months after probate is granted?