Unsigned will

[breathe21]

My uncle has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, his first wife died many years ago and they have 1 grown up son. uncle re married over 20 years ago and his wife has 2 grown up daughters. Uncle and son fell out years ago, uncle made a will around 15 yrs ago and everything was to be left to son. Property and money was his before he married second wife. Now he is changing his will so everything goes to 1 of his second wifes daughters but nothing to other daughter as she fleeced him out of thousands of pounds several years ago, again wife to remain in house until she dies. He has given this daughter a large cheque just to 'empty one bank account', which the solicitor who is doing the latest will is aware of and quite happy with. The solicitor spoke with uncle on the phone yesterday and uncle told him to now go ahead with the will as planned, the solicitor is now drafting it out and sending it to uncle to sign. But what happens if uncle dies before signing the new will?

[dotty.]

you will have a funeral to got to. plus, the natural son will likely contest the will

[tamborine]

the will wont be valid unless its signed in the presence of two indepe
dant witnesses

[breathe21]

if the new will is not signed then how can the natural son contest it??

[tamborine]

if he dies intestate the wife will inherit the property

[breathe21]

thanks tamborine, if he was to die before signing the new will would the original will be used?

[breathe21]

also could the cheque gifted to the daughter have to be returned?

[tamborine]

yes, as it would be the will

[tamborine]

Without written evidence anything can be disputed

[FredPuli43]

Unsigned here equals no will. No will means the last valid will is still effective unless it has been revoked at the testator's wish, as by, for example, destruction by him or at his command.The revocation of the last valid will would not in itself achieve what your uncle wishes, since it would leave him intestate, as though no will had ever been made, as that last will itself will have revoked all wills before it . The intestacy rules then apply. It is a fair bet that your uncle would not be happy with that.

You have to hope that your uncle signs his new will and has it duly witnessed.

[breathe21]

thanks for replies, lets hope the solicitor pulls his finger out, my uncle is fretting over this, poor man. he cannot remember if his son would of received a copy of the will or some form of letter informing him of what he was going to inherit, otherwise he would of tore his old will up.

[Buenchico]

As I read your post, the will made 15 years ago was made AFTER your uncle remarried. (That's important as marriage normally invalidates any existing will). So that will remains valid unless your uncle has revoked it in writing (or by physically destroying it himself).

So if the new will is not signed the original will determines the distribution of your uncle's estate. However his wife can contest the terms of that will, on the grounds that it fails to make 'reasonable financial provision' for her:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63

If the new will is signed prior to your uncle's death, both his wife and son can challenge the terms of the will on the grounds of 'reasonable financial provision'.

The step-daughter who is to receive nothing from either will could also make such a challenge (to whichever will was valid) if she could show that she was treated as if she was your uncle's daughter.

Your uncle is, of course, free to give away his money to anyone prior to his death. However such gifts will still count towards the value of the estate when determining whether there's any liability for Inheritance Tax:
http://www.hmrc.gov.u...ey-property/index.htm

Chris

[sandyRoe]

With so many thankless children, and other scheming relatives, around it's a wonder that Battersea Dogs Home isn't inundated with bequests.

[breathe21]

thanks chris, i should have said theat the solicitor is enclosing a letter in the will addressed to the other daughter stating why she is not a beneficiary of this will.

[breathe21]

I am definatley spending my money whilst i am alive, save my family a lot of hassle lol

[factor-fiction]

"also could the cheque gifted to the daughter have to be returned"
No- I don't see any reason for this unless it can be claimed that the payment was made under duress.
A will covers what happens to the remaining estate after death. If bona fide transfers take place before death and leave nothing in the estate then then the beneficiaries get their due share of nothing.

[breathe21]

solicitor also confirmed there would be no inheritance tax as the estate is under the threshold

[breathe21]

thanks for all replies, much appreciated

[tonywiltshire]

Does anyone remember the media magnate Robert Holmes a Court?
He died suddenly in his early fifties and it was discovered his draft will had been
prepared nearly two years earlier but never signed, and he died intestate. I think his estate was valued at over £300 million (in 1990), perhaps a little more than most of us.
It is a salutary warning for anyone who has not made a will, to now have it prepared. A judge once said “The testator filled in the will form and signed it no doubt thinking he had done a good day’s work- he had for the legal profession”.
Another salutary warning have your will prepared by a solicitor; the legal profession earn a great deal of money from DIY wills.

[Barmaid]

Shucks Tony, did you have to give away my secret!!!! If everyone gets it right, I'll go out of business!

[FredPuli43]

You're living is safe with me Barmaid. I got confused when I saw there was no bit on the form about my being of sound mind, so what the rest of my will reads like, I can only wonder.