protesting a will

[nikital88]

My uncle died in august 2007, his wife kept everything including the bar he had in thailand the house he had in france and all the houses he owned in england.
my uncle had one brother (my dad) and four sisters. he had quiet a bit of estate. my uncle had always said infron of his wife in the event of him dying he would give the bar to my dad, that changed as soon as he went as his wife chaged all the goalposts. is it possible for siblings to contest the will or would it be too late now... i dont really understand. i just know that my dad is still upset with everything thats happened.... any ideas???

[buildersmate]

The very thing we need to know is missing - who did he leave his estate to?
Normally it would be spouse and children. He appears to have no children.
Irrespective of what he may have said to his brother, if he left his estate to his wife, that is your answer.
Contrary to what you suggest, a spouse cannot 'change the goalposts' after domeone has died - the will is already written.

[factor-fiction]

I agree with buildersmate.
The other interpretation of your question is that you are implying that there was a will which left something to your dad but your auntie suppressed it and claimed he'd left no will- that way she would get everything. Is that what you are implying?

[bednobs]

if there is a will to contest, one must presume that it left everything to the wife. If the uncle had wanted to leave your dad anything, he would have written it in his will. If that is the case your dad will simply have to get over it and realise people can leave their estate to whoever they want, and despite what they may or may not say, if it's not in the will, it would be very expensive to contest it and very unlikely that you would win

[terambulan]

U can get a copy of the Will from your local Probate office (ask at library or solicitor for details). Anything left to your parent will be listed on that Will.

If the terms of the Will are not met then you can litigate against the benefactor.

[jason000x]

my uncle wrote two wills, but there was about 20 yrs in between them and his wife (not my auntie shes nothing to do with me) chose to use the old one where he didnt leave it the bar or houses in france to anyone. but because she had his name, she has now gone and sold all of his property. i dont know if this is illegal but in thailand she changed the name of the bar to her name then sold it...

[dot.hawkes]

ooo jason your story is very similar to nikita's, you should chat together about it

[Rollo]

Small world!

[factor-fiction]

Nikita/Jason,
Have you got evidence that there was another will? Do you know whether a solicitor drew it up as they may have kept a copy. I
f you can find a later valid will you should see a solicitor, and it would help if you had evidence that she knew of the existence of the later will but surpressed it.
If you have no evidence then you need to find some or just accept things as they are.

[Barmaid]

Right, can you please answer these questions:-

rough date of first will and main provisions
rough date of second will and main provisions
rough date of marriage of Uncle.

Something is wrong here, but I am not sure I have understood you correctly.

[nikital88]

my uncle first wrote a will in the 70's then re wrote another one late 90's early 2000's. the first one said that in the case if him dyin his wife would get everything... the second which she chose to ignor was the one where it said my dad would get his bar... but she had changed the bar into her name once he died so she sold it along with everything else... i know it confusing!!

[nikital88]

they got married about 25 yrs ago...

[Barmaid]

Right, you need to see a solicitor. Because unless there was anything wrong with the latest will (lack of compliance with execution requirements, lack of testamentary capacity or the presumption of due revocation - all of which are legally complicated) the estate SHOULD have been distributed under that.

Seeing as she has sold property, she must have a Grant of Probate so you should do a standing search at the Probate Registry.

However, having just been involved in an estate with Thai property, I am aware that Thai inheritance laws are different to here. There is potentially a very complicated domicile situation here on which specialist advice will be required (even Judges hate the law of domicile and lex situs - ie where the property is situated).

I would suggest you contact a firm of solicitors with a specialism in contentious probate - preferably one who is a member of ACTAPS.

[nikital88]

thank you so much will do so

[factor-fiction]

The extra info is helpful, Nikita.
Can I just clear some things up:.

1. You say the first will was made in the 1970's leaving everything to his wife, but you then say he got married about 25 years ago (which would be around 1983. Do these dates match-up? Are we talking about the same wife?
2. Have you got evidence the later will was signed and executed? People sometimes write a will but don't get round to getting it signed etc.

Good luck.

[jno]

latest will should win if it's properly executed, so I should try to track it down. It's up to your uncle who he leaves things to, and he's entitled to change his mind and write another will any time he wants; his wife can't then overrule it.

[nikital88]

i dont really know when he got married to be honest but it is the same wife yes! He left his new will signed and with a family friend so when his wife came home from thailand because it said his estate was intitled to some of of his family she burned it and went with the old will.....

[factor-fiction]

You say the will was signed, but was it properly executed and did it renounce allprevious wills? Could there another copy? It's always a good idea to have at least one extra copy of a will and lodge it with a solicitor/executor.