Executor (Stepsister)

[Krobinson29]

Hi, my stepsister who is the executor of my late stepmothers will failed to inform me and my sister that we were named in our stepmothers will. Me and my sister found out by chance that our stepmother had passed away and now we don’t have time to contest the will

[atticus]

Why do you say that you don't have time to contest the Will?

And what would be your grounds for contesting it?

[PallasAthena]

Have you got a copy of the Will?

If not see if it has been put on the government's site where all.Wills are published and publically available after Probate has been granted

[Krobinson29]

We had a copy of the will, we instructed a solicitor to get the preparation file from our stepmothers Will writers. We now have evidence from our fathers Will which stated me and my sister were to inherit 15% of the remaining estate after our stepmothers death. Our stepmother went against our father’s wishes and basically disinherited me and my sister and left the entire estate 500k to her daughter our stepsister. This is so wrong and has caused a lot of upset to me and my sister. Before our father died his wishes were that in the event of our stepmothers death we would receive the 15% each from the remaining estate. Our stepsister has now blocked all communications with me and my sister and we don’t have the money to take her to court.

[Krobinson29]

Our stepmother did leave me and my sister a gift. £4K which is definately not the 15% our father wanted

[Krobinson29]

She also lied that we didn’t ever see our father or make the effort to be in his life which is a complete and utter lie.

[HariSeldon]

We now have evidence from our fathers Will which stated me and my sister were to inherit 15% of the remaining estate after our stepmothers death.

What was the actual wording of your father's will regarding the 15% each? (For the avoidance of doubt was this wording in the actual will or in an accompanying letter of wishes?)

[atticus]

If there is enough at stake to justify action, you should gather together all available information and documents. These will include all communications of any kind: letters, emails, text messages, WhatsApp etc.

There may - note MAY - just be grounds to bring a claim. But this is likely to need specialist advice. The exact basis of a possible claim is not yet clear.

You have not answered my question why you say that you don't have time to contest the Will.

Also, when did your father die?

[Krobinson29]

Our father died in January 2021. Prior to his death he and my stepmother actioned mirror wills. They both stated that on the event of our stepmother passing me and my sister were to inherit 15% each of the remaining estate. After my father died our stepmother honored that in her will. But a year later in 2022 she changed her will stating that me and my sister would be gifted 4K each not the 15% her and my father had agreed on. Basically our stepsister had our inheritance which is deeply distressing and hurtful. Stepsister claims her mother left her the money.

[atticus]

My question why you say that you don't have time to contest the Will remains unanswered.

[Krobinson29]

We have been advised by our solicitor that it’s unlikely we will win our case if we take it to court. Stepmother put an unequal provision form along side her will.

[Krobinson29]

We can’t afford thousands of pounds to contest it thru the courts

[Frank1]

Did your stepmother want your stepsister to inherit 85% of her estate?
To secure this in the event of your stepmum passing before your dad, the original mirror wills should have included clauses setting up an Interest in Possesion (also known as a Life Interest Trust).
The applicable percentage of the estate for your first parent to die could have been put in this trust. The trust terms could have allowed the surviving parent to have access to the trust funds after approval of the trustee who would be given strict instructions when funds can be released.
Following the death of the surviving parent the funds would be passed to your stepsister, sister and yourself in the stated shares.

It would help if you can post the clauses in the mirror wills that cover the beneficiaries inheritance upon the death of your surviving parent.

You may have a negligence claim against the original will writer or a claim against the executors if they failed to follow the terms of the will correctly

[Krobinson29]

Me and my sister were to receive 15% each 70% to our stepsister.

[Tofros]

Were they just mirror wills or does the will file indicate that they were mutual wills? Was there a binding promise made to each other not to change their wills after the death of the other on which each relied in making their matching wills? If mutual wills there would be a constructive trust binding the executors of the later will of your step-mum to distribute the estate in accordance with the earlier will, regardless of what the later will says.