Wills

[Telecom Man]

I have several questions regarding wills. I recently discovered that my estranged sister had herself made executor of our mothers will without informing me. I was named as executor originally. Our mother died recently and my sister disposed of her 'worldly goods' to charitable organisations. I believe she carried this out without obtaining Probate regarding the will. While I know my mother would not have much in the way of cash and similar assets I am aggrieved that my sister has carried this out without offering any family members the 'first refusal' of mum's furniture and other effects.
First question. How can I get to see a copy of mum's Will? How can I check that Probate was granted? What steps can I take if the will has not been executed legally/correctly and or Probate wasn't granted? Mum died exactly 2 weeks ago and her possessions were disposed of by my sister before the funeral had taken place last Friday. There has been no formal reading of the will. Any help gratefully appreciated.

[obNOXious]

this happened to a friend of mine and in effect your pretty stuffed if the estate wasn't worth a great deal as it's very expensive to pursue. It's a horrible way of carrying on when someone has died and I feel really sorry for you, they were devastated.

[brenda]

This may help----there is Probate helpline tel .number

0854 3020900, I have found them to be excellent in the past.

You can get a copy of the original will if it has gone to probate, because the original is now a public document , there is a charge for this.

You may need to work out carefully what you really want to do about this matter.
It can be very expensive indeed to pursue the contents of an estate which have already been disposed of.,and pretty impossible to get the items back.
You might only want to confirm in your mind what has actually happened, and a will copy might do this for you .
As you mentioned the value of the estate in terms of cash was indeed small, and the possessions of the deceased were more of sentimental value than material wealth , I can understand why you are upset and rightly so as this was your Mother's demise.
However as mentioned in a previous post you may be well stuffed over the items, but you may want to know how it all happened, and I can fully understand that, so hope this helps a little.

[Telecom Man]

Thanks Brenda for your advice. I am more bothered by my estranged sisters intentions by having me removed as executor. My mother was a trusting lady and would have fallen into anything my sister told her. As I have lived overseas for many years I didn't have my mum's ear everyday as she would have. Mum never mentioned any change to the will at any time. I really need to find out that the will has been carried out legally and in compliance with mum's wishes. I can then rest easy.

[brenda]

I understand 100% how you must be feeling, Totally devastated.
As you may already know , and this was an after thought on my part, Probate officies are scattered around the country and each covers a large area , and it is possible to get Probate granted at any Probate office, with the right documents and completion of their forms.I mention this to give you as an example , my Uncle died in Nov 2008 in Lancashire, I was his executor and I live in the N.east , so I got the probate at the office in Newcastle -upon -Tyne which is so much nearer to my home.
Your sister may also have got Probate if she did, at an office near to where she lives .This may or may not be near the home of your late Mother.

Worth mentioning this to the Probate office when you ring.

Sincere good luck , hope you will be able to rest easy soon.

[themas]

If your mother died only 2 weeks ago there is no way that probate will have been obtained yet & you won't be able to get a copy of the will from the probate office until it has been.

If the estate is genuinely very small it may be that probate will not need to be obtained. Sometimes banks etc. are willing to pay out on the deceased's accounts without probate on seeing the death certificate & (I think) a copy of the will if the amount is small. If this happens you may have difficulty ever seeing a copy of the will, as I believe the executor is not under a duty to disclose it.

The above ignores the ethical & moral aspect of this. Your sister's actions seem to me to be montrous. Perhaps you & other family members can try to put pressure on her to let you see the will.