Hypothetical Question On Writing A Will

[Tarser]

I'm attempting to write a novel with the following scenario:

Old lady dies apparently without writing a Will. House goes to her next of kin. The house is then sold.

Later on, a friend of the old lady finds a Will. She had hidden it in an item that she had left to him - witnesses signed it but it was never officially filed or stored.

Could the Will now be used to claim back the house that has already been sold? Or is this scenario too ridiculous to consider?

Thank you...

[Barmaid]

A will does not have to be filed or registered so the Will would be perfectly valid.

I see two problems - if the old lady didnt leave a Will how did she "leave an item" to her friend (unless I suppose it was given to her before death).

Second problem is that the new owner in the house will have good title since the administrator who sold it would have had good title. The beneficiary under the Will could only reclaim an interest in the sale proceeds subect to limitation periods.

[Peter Pedant]

oh thx for that Bar maid....missed the overarching interest bit or lack of it

has happened on heir hunters ( almost )
the heir on intestacy took possession and then er found a will in the house

( and immediately rang up the true heir and said "its yours - I know it isnt mine." - asked if she had any impulse to destroy the will said - no oh course not )

[Tarser]

So, it's not impossible that an old lady could give someone her will, enclosed inside a gift she'd given her neighbour whilst alive, (doing this because she knew that her next of kin (whom she hated) would destroy it when cleaning out the house). The will would then be valid up to a point would it? When the house is sold again, the beneficiary would get something - and may be motivated to get the new owners to sell it by foul means?

[Barmaid]

The Will would be valid in its entirety. The problem comes with its implementation.

It is entirely possible that the old lady could have given the Will to her friend. This would certainly prevent it being destroyed by her grabbing family (I know of a case where this actually happened).

When the Will is found, the executor named in the Will would have to get Probate and the previous Letters of Administration (this is similar to probate but happens when there is no Will) would have to be revoked. The executor would then pursue the original administrator (who is likely to have been the beneficiary or one of them) for the house sale proceeds. The new purchasers of the house would not feature. The interest is and will always be in the sale proceeds.

[Old_Geezer]

As a non-lawyer it all seems very strange to me. Are we saying that a situation can occur where a will turns up years late, and someone goes after the beneficiary and says, "You know that £5,000,000 that you were given when your relative died; and which you spent and gave away and are now penniless ? Well we have to have it all back now because the will shows it was left to Mrs. X." ?

[Barmaid]

If it was already spent OG, that's the end of it. You cant get blood out of a stone.

[Old_Geezer]

Well that's something at least :-)

[trt]

I think it would make a good story, but check the legal side of things, then let your imagination get carried away, and make sure the good guy wins :-)

[Barmaid]

I keep thinking I might write a book - trouble is some of the crazy things that have happened would be too unbelievable for words.

[woofgang]

So if the executor was not a beneficiary then the executor would be personally liable even though they had acted in absolute good faith?....I mean I kind of know the legal answer to this...but in reality, how long does this personal liability last for? And could the executor turn to the beneficiaries to recover the money? All of the beneficiaries or only those who received the house?

[Tarser]

So, the hero is sitting in the solicitor's office now and says:

"I've found this Will! It's been witnessed and I can track them down if necessary. I think this makes the Will valid and the house should have gone to me! What can you do?"

"Well, Mr X......."

What sort of thing would he say that would sound legally realistic? Just a paragraph would do and I'll share the inevitable massive royalties with the 'best answer' that will follow...ha! ha!

[woofgang]

Well, and I don’t mean this to sound dismissive of solicitors and I found his advice good.......When I took advice from one about a will and property, He said consider carefully before you decide to go forward. The law is not cheap and whatever the letter of it says, there are no guarantees. Think carefully about whether you can afford to pursue this and whether in the end you stand a chance of coming out of it in profit. My particular issue involved family members (not immediate family) and he also pointed out that the bad feeling it would inevitably engender could, probably would, be permanent.
maybe not what you are looking for, but real.

[Peter Pedant]

// trouble is some of the crazy things that have happened would be too unbelievable for words.// brmaid

you could write it under the pen name Mossis Megarry
and feature a lawyer in a wheel chair shouting - drink ! drink !
at frequent intervals

Megarry VC wrote a series of books ( Miscellanies ) about all this including a list of Chancellors and the rest who wrote invalid wills or died intestate
( ellenborough springs to mind )

one text book writer on wills - his widow told him he could use the case as an illustration so long as Megarry didnt name him .....

[Peter Pedant]

O come on Tarsier - you're writing the bok and not her !