Controlling Brother has manipulated will.

[MistrustBIL]

Hi everyone,
Hope somebody can advise.

My mother died in December 2017 nearly 4 years after my father. It was clear that she'd had enough and had been suffering from dementure and parkinsons for a while.
According to the hospital, my brother who I don't really have anything to do with, had 'power of attorney'.
Last April/ May, he sold Mum's house through Purple Bricks we believe so that Mum could move into the small annexe that he'd built so that he could 'look after her'. He also told the hospital that he was her full time carer which is why we were a bit shocked that she had been admitted mal nourished and dehydrated to hospital in November, prior to her passing away.
It now appears that my brother is the sole beneficiary of my mum & dads will.

We don't have the solicitors name and he says that they wouldn't speak to us anyway as we are not in the will. (he's done his homework. We can't find any registered power of attorney either and, bearing in mind that my brother has a history of deceit and lying we would like to find out what has happened to Mums money. Although we always kept in touch and visited mum, she would never speak about anything to do with my brother and we fear that he was controlling her and to a certain extent my father before he died.

If mum had dementure when the house was sold (which is why she was moved into the annexe) ... and my brother had a power of attorney, presumably the Purple Bricks solicitors would have needed sight of this prior to releasing the sale proceeds (£250,000) ? Can we check this with Purple Bricks?

Have we got to take it entirely upon trust that what my brother says is the truth?

Any helpfull advise much appreciated

[slainte caragh]

Sorry for your terrible loss.

Tagging Peridot for more help

[des8]

Hi and welcome
Whilst awaiting for Peridot have you searched probate records for the will (https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills) ?
If he obtained a grant of probate the will becomes a public document.

You may be able to make a claim for provision from your late mother's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
Claims have to be made within 6 months of the grant of probate.
Peridot will have more advice on this .

[Peridot]

Hi Mistrustbil,

I'm sorry to hear of this sad situation. It is so difficult when family relations sour and always accentuated when there is a death in the family, unfortunately.

If we consider the issue surrounding the power of attorney first. Your mother may have created a lasting power of attorney (LPA) or a general power of attorney appointing your brother to act on her behalf. The LPA could be in relation to her property and finances and/or decisions about her health and welfare. A general power of attorney would be in relation to a specific task, such as selling the property.

When she created any of these types of document, she would've had to have had the mental capacity to do so. If an LPA was created, it would also have been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. The other thing that may have happened is the Court of Protection (CoP) may have appointed your brother as her deputy, if your mother did not have sufficient capacity to create her own LPA. He could have applied for this himself although I anticipate the CoP would have let you know, if this was the case.

If your mother did not have the mental capacity to deal with the house sale herself then there would have to be an attorney or deputy appointed to deal with it, on her behalf. The house couldn't be sold without one. I assume that when your father died the property transferred to your mother? Any solicitor dealing with the sale or the purchasers solicitor would have to see the original document giving the power of attorney. Did your mother have capacity at the time the house was sold? Just because she'd had a diagnosis of dementia doesn't mean that she did not have lucid times or had insufficient mental capacity to deal with her affairs, although I would expect a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to check.

Although I would have thought that a good estate agent should check that the person giving them the instruction to market the property is the legal owner and able to make that decision, the more likely source of the information would be the lawyers dealing with the sale.

It may be an idea to contact the OPG to see if she had appointed an attorney or had a deputy appointed at any time before she passed away. Here is the link: https://www.gov.uk/find-someones-attorney-or-deputy When your mother died, any LPA or deputyship in place would have to be returned to the relevant body OPG or CoP.

It is really difficult to hear anyone was malnourished when they went into hospital. I would say that in severe dementia cases it can happen and doesn't necessarily mean the person has been mistreated, although in general terms you would expect a carer to ask for help before things got too bad.

As far as the Will is concerned, again for your mother to have prepared a Will she would have to have the mental capacity to do so. I imagine you don't know when her Will was prepared so would not be aware if her capacity was an issue at the time? Of course if your mother had sufficient mental capacity to make the Will she can leave her estate to whoever she wishes. If a lawyer prepared her Will I would expect them to have recommended she left a letter or note explaining why she made the decision she did. They would have prepared an attendance note in addition confirming the instructions and the reasons for those instructions, as well as assessing your mother's mental capacity to create the Will at that time. Of course she may have prepared her own Will in which case there may not be the evidence of her wishes that a lawyer would have noted down. Her capacity at the time of creating the Will definitely factors into this and I expect it would be necessary to look at her medical records around the time the will was prepared to ascertain her likely mental state at that time.

If your mother did not have capacity to give will instructions at the time it was created, there may be a claim that she was unduly influenced to have the Will prepared in the way she had. These types of claim can be difficult to prove and costly, but depending on the outcome of your investigations into the attorney issue, and/or your knowledge of your mother's disease progression, it may be worth discussing with a lawyer what options you have available to you.

You may also have a claim against the estate under the Inheritance

(Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. A

lthough the Court's are reluctant to go against a person's wishes in their Will, unless there is valid reason to do so. The sorts of factors the Court would look at in this type of claim include; the financial resources and needs of the applicant (the person making the claim); the financial resources and needs which any other potential applicant; the financial resources and needs which any beneficiary of the estate has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future; any obligations and responsibilities which the deceased had towards any applicant or towards any beneficiary of their estate, together with the size and nature of the net estate and whether the applicant or any beneficiary has any physical or mental disability.

These sorts of claim are difficult, time consuming and costly. You would need to get some specialist advice from a contested probate specialist. They would be able to advise you whether you are likely to be successful in any claim and the likely cost. They would also be able to assist you with dealing with the executor. There are other options such as mediation, to try and reach an agreement between you and your brother. I would recommend that you get some guidance on this if you decided to go ahead with any sort of claim.

If a Grant of Probate is needed to deal with her estate then you could apply for a copy of the Grant and any Will from here: https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inh...robate-records There is a fee of £10 for a copy and of course you will only be able to obtain a copy if a Grant has been issued. You could apply for a standing search. This means that if a Grant is applied for you would be notified. It is not a caveat, which prevents the Grant from actually being issued. If you had a potential claim against the estate then you have 6 months from the date the Grant is issued to bring the claim. Hence preventing the Grant by way of a caveat isn't probably what is needed here, as with a standing search you would be notified and can take any necessary steps. A standing search can be applied for at the same time as applying for information about the probate grant here:

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

Whether a Grant is issued will depend on your mother's assets and the value of her estate. If she had shares for example a Grant would be needed to deal with them.

There are a lot of issues

in your situation and I hope this clarifies some of them. Do pop back on the forum if you think we can offer any more support.