unsigned will

[NiceNanny1]

Hi All
my mum died recently and we have found her will which is not signed my dad died 18month ago and left the same will his is signed and witnessed i do know that it was done at a solicitors but there is no name of a solicitor on the papers we have and we dont have a clue who they were we sent both wills off to the probate office and they have wrote back saying that her will is not valid which i suspected would be the case. Its all very straight forward there is only the house no money left to the three children none of us disputes anything we just want it all over with as mum had alzheimers for the last 5 years and its been hell for us what shall we do now i understabd that we have to apply for letters of administration??? will this take a long time as its all straight forward as we have someone who wants to buy the house. Its so annoying as there was obviousley a signed copy of her will but she had a habit of turning everything out and throwing things in the bin due to her condition so its been lost somewhere along the line can anyone adise us on what we do now the probate office didnt give us any info at all many thanks.

[enaid]

Re: unsigned will

Hi Nicenanny and welcome
As the will is not signed it is invalid so it will be that your mum died intestate.
There are strict rules on this and on this link http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governme...on/DG_10029802 you will find all the info you should need. If you are not clear on anything just ask.
Enaid x
.

[bluebottle]

Re: unsigned will

Just to add to Enaid's advice, the Ministry of Justice have a section on probate which might be of assistance to you at www.justice.gov.uk. Put the word "probate" into the search box and it will produce a list of probate topics which you will need to look through until you find the one that applies in your case. Another source of help is your local Law Centre where you can obtain free legal advice.

[Nikolai]

Re: unsigned will

Just to add to what's already been said, the same thing happened on a case I dealt with some years ago. The husband and wife signed their Wills at the same time. H then died and probate was granted. When W died several years later, no signed Will could be found, only an unsigned draft copy. In that case, W suffered from dementia for 4/5 years before she died. It was assumed that W had mistakenly disposed of the signed Will, because no trace of it was ever found. Family members knew W had signed a Will at the same time as her late H, but an application for Letters of Administration had to be made, as the Probate Registry deemed her intestate.
There was no problem with the intestacy, as I suspect there won't be in your case, it didn't take any longer than probate would have done either. So don't worry, just go ahead with an application for Letters of Administration. The procedure isn't difficult, and is something you can do yourself, without a solicitor. All I'd say is read the guidance you can find online, and keep copies of everything you send. Decide among yourselves who will apply - it doesn't have to be all 3 of you. What you're aiming for is that piece of paper from the probate registry called "Letters of Administration". That document will be your authority to deal with the estate and sell the house.
Hope this helps.

[NiceNanny1]

Re: unsigned will

Thankyou to all that replyed i feel a bit better now having read your replys it all seems so daunting not what you need after the last few years of what we have been through love this site its so helpfull .

[enaid]

Re: unsigned will

It is indeed a very awful time for anyone dealing with nearest and dearests affairs after they have gone.
One of the worst is the DWPs imho they want every halfpenny back that they assume has been overpaid to the deceased and are none too sympathetic in the letters to ask for it.
I am pleased we have helped you a little through this sad time and if you need any more help just ask.
Enaid x

[Darling212]

Re: unsigned will

Hello guys,
Just wondering if you help?
My grandmother recently suffered a stroke which has left her mentally incapacitated. She previously instructed a solicitor to make a new will but it was not signed. What can she do in relation to that incomplete will? Is it possible to just sign that will under the permission of the Court of Protection. I am confused as to what the position is from here. Thank you.