Possible fraudulent will

[rachfayyo]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help. To cut a long story short, how can you dispute a will if the will was not drafted by a solicitor, it was a diy will that was apparently witnessed by the testators aunt and uncle but the bequests in the will are quite different from what the testator has recently told his only child and the signature of the testator looks forged, I have original copies of the testators true signature and the one on the 'Will' definitely looks forged not only to me but to other people I have shown it to. Our solicitor is suggesting sending a Larke v Negus letter but if there is no solicitor involved in drafting the will in the first place what happens, there is no-one to send this Larke v Negus letter to? We don't have the orignal copy of this 'Will' yet as it was supposedly made whilst the testator was visiting his family in Australia in 2022, he passed away in October 2023, he is a British Citizen, we only have a photo of the 'Will' that has been sent and it doesn't show any solicitors details on it or anything else, it just looks like it's been typed up by someone and signed. I can't ask our solicitor any further questions as we haven't formally instructed them yet and I don't want to do that if we have no chance of getting anywhere.

[atticus]

I don't think anyone here is going to tell you that you have no chance.

You might consider entering a caveat, to prevent the questioned will being admitted to Probate. This may lead to court action to determine the validity of the will.

If there is enough at stake to justify it, take that legal advice.

[Pezza54]

Who is the executor named in the will? The will should provide their full name and address.
You could write (on behalf of the testator's only child) that having spoken to the deceased's son or daughter about the content of the will and the unfamiliar signature by the testator, you doubt the validity of the will
The witnesses should be independent and not a relative of the testator. Nor should they be beneficiaries. Put that in your letter to the executor pointing out that the witnesses are the aunt and uncle of the deceased
It does sound as if the will is invalid in UK law

[atticus]

Sorry Pezza54 but relatives may be the witnesses to a will. If a witness is a beneficiary, then the gift to that person fails.

The will is not invalid on that ground. However, it may be that the choice of these persons as witnesses is in all the circumstances another factor that makes the will questionable.

[Pezza54]

Thanks Atticus, sorry, my mistake
Someone should tell Legal and General they are wrong. A 2024 article "who can witness and sign a will" at www.legaland general.com states the witness must not be a relative of the testator
That means if the aunt or uncle are named beneficiaries they won't receive a penny

[rachfayyo]

Thank you all. Maybe I should explain more. My ex husband passed away last October (2023), our son was 17 yrs old at the time, when he passed no-one could find or knew of a Will, the whole family both in the UK and Australia hunted everywhere. My husband owned our family home and had a few bank accounts and pensions, it was a mess trying to find everything, however we have found most of his estate now and have instructed a solicitor to post probate as soon as our son turned 18, i.e. this week as there was no will so everything would go to our son . Then a couple of days ago my son received a text from his Nan (my ex's mother) who lives in Australia, she had suddenly found the will in a drawer in her house, unlikely I know, and lo and behold this 'Will' requested that my ex's sister and brother would be the executors of the will and the wishes of the Will were that the family home be split 70% to our son and 15% each to my ex's sister and brother and that the rest of the estate be split equally between our son and my ex's sister and brother.
Now you might think this is straightforward, however as I mentioned, it does not look like my ex's signature on the will, it looks forged and having known my ex for 17 years I am certain that he would not have wanted the rest of his estate to be split equally, he would have wanted it to go to our son, in fact he had recently told our son that everything was going to go to him when he died. So our son is now very angry and feels like his Aunt and Uncle who he had a good relationship with have turned on him. I should point out that I am trying to find out what we can do for my sons sake, as per our divorce I have no interest in and neither am i able to claim any of this for myself. So my son wants to take this further as he feels the will is forged but I don't know what to do as it looks very much like no solicitor was involved in drafting the will.

[atticus]

My advice is to consult that solicitor - provided that 30% is worth fighting over.

[rachfayyo]

Thank you for your advice Atticus, much appreciated.

[Pezza54]

What is also suspicious is that his family in Australia couldn't remember and didn't tell you in October/November 2023 that your ex had made a will during his visit in 2022
On top of that it has taken over 3 months to find a will in a drawer? Highly suspicious

You said your ex owned the family home. Did you move out when you divorced? It may be worth checking the online land registry to confirm he was sole owner and there aren't any restrictions or interest

Your son, now 18, should write to the executors to request a copy of the will. Although they are not legally bound to provide one, there is a chance they could email one

[rachfayyo]

Thank you PEZZA54, yes, exactly re your first paragraph, that's what we think. I have seen the photograph of the will that was sent to my son, it looks like someone just typed it up tbh, but I believe that as long as it is witnessed by two witnesses who aren't beneficiaries it's ok, which unfortulately it is.
However, I found out yesterday that the brother of my ex, who according to this new will is due to inherit an equal sum of the rest of the estate has previously forged the signature of his own ex wife since their divorce on certain documents, this ex wife is willing to help us but it won't prove that he is the one that made this will. I believe he got it typed up, forged the signatures, sent it to his Mum in Australia and got her to send it from her phone to my son. however, proving this is a different matter. Did I also mention that at the moment this person (my ex's brother) is living in the family home rent free as the mortgage has been frozen for a year! My son want's him out (my son isn't living there at the moment, he moved out when his Dad passed and is living with his own brother at the moment) but as this new will shows that my ex's brother and sister will own 15% each of the house and my son 70% we don't know how my son will be able to get him out without the brother and sisters agreement.

[atticus]

Was the purported will signed in the UK, Australia, or elsewhere?

[rachfayyo]

supposedly in Australia, he was actually in Australia at the supposed time, we know that, my son was in Australia with him, they were visiting relatives. However my son said his Dad didn't mention that he was drafting his will or that he was taking it to his Aunt and Uncles home to get it signed.

[atticus]

It is possible that the question arises whether this is a valid will under the law of the particular state of Australia.

[rachfayyo]

I have done a search and it seems that the laws are the same as ours.

[Pezza54]

You should seek the advice and services of a contentious probate solicitor
The solicitor may recommend a handwriting expert to advise if the signatures are fraudulent.
If the witnesses are still alive, the solicitor should write to them for confirmation that they were present when your ex signed his will