Fathers Will..

[icemaiden]

My Dad died in January. My step mum and I found two Wills. One not signed so invalid. The other signed and dated October 2005. This one stated that I inherit a sum of money and a trust fund set up for my Daughter. I did not ask for a copy at that time. A few weeks later she rang me and said, Wills have been sorted, you have X amount of money. I asked for a copy of the Will. Never received it. Asked again. Never received it.
So I wrote to the solicitors holding the Will, and said that I had been told I was mentioned in the Will. They replied saying there were no provisions for me. Confused by this I then wrote to the probate office for a copy of the Will. (I wasn’t going to ask her again). I received the Will from probate and it was a different Will. This one was dated October 2001.
My Step-mum inherits everything. There is a codicil attached dated April 2009, changes a few words but nothing that would significantly make a difference. This would also explain why she went from having to sell the house because she couldn’t afford it to buying a new kitchen, bed etc. She never told me about this will. I have tried ringing but she ignores me. I then received an email saying she was dismayed that I obtained a copy of the Will by other means and does not want any more to do with me or my daughter. (Daughter is heartbroken). I replied giving my reasons as to why I wrote to solicitor and that I had asked her for the Will twice. I also asked her where the other Will was. (The one dated 2005) She has not replied. It’s bothering me that he didn’t leave anything to my Daughter/ his Granddaughter. He doted on her and was always saying she would be ok when he died. Something is niggling at me that all is not right but I don’t know what to do? I have no money for solicitors to pursue it.

[dzug2]

<dzug. my fil contested his father's will when all was left to the stepmother and he won>

I'm not saying it's never successful but it is unusual for it to be.

[cathfromsaron]

call police! the latest valid will always supercedes any other! xx

[dzug2]

<<call police! >>

The police will not have the slightest interest without evidence. There isn't any - or at least not enough to get them interested.

[icemaiden]

cathfromsaron-I agree but there was a codicil on the 2001 Will and the codicil was dated April 2009. So would that then cancel out the 2005 Will?

unfortunately I do not have the money to contest the Will.

[netibiza]

dzug, the reason my fil and his bro won, was because they were not mentioned at all and the judge said had they been left even £25 they could not have contested it, but the father seemed have forgotten to mention them and for this reason they won. Needless to say most of the money was eaten up by solicitors!!!!

[joko]

my mum does everything like this for my dad...could this will be fake? could ahe have made it heself

i would write a letter to all local solicitors an ask them...may take a while but its likelyve used a nearby one

[Buenchico]

While there is no standard legal format for a will, I've yet to see one which doesn't commence with something along the lines of "I hereby revoke all former Wills and testamentary dispositions made by me." If the 2005 document included that phrase (or something similar to it), and was properly signed and witnessed, the 2001 automatically ceased to have any validity whatsoever. (That would hold true even if the rest of the 2005 document was so poorly drafted that it was completely nonsensical).

Any codicil dated 2009 would not be valid if it specifically stated that it was a codicil to the 2001 will (since there was no valid will, from that date, to append a codicil to). However it would probably be valid if it only stated that it was a codicil 'to my last will and testament'. (However, anyone drawing up a codicil which doesn't cite the date of the will shouldn't be doing the job!).

It appears that your stepmother has committed a serious criminal offence by making a probate application based upon a will which she knew wasn't valid. The advice, above, to involve the police may well be sound. However you might not get very far if you walk into a busy police station on a day when everyone is engaged in more pressing duties. Try inviting your local community constable around for a cuppa. He/she will probably know next to nothing about fraud but he/she will know who to discuss the matter with at the police station.

Chris

PS: Anyone who retains an old will (perhaps for sentimental purposes) should always write 'Revoked by new will, dated xx/yy/zz' across it. (I've done exactly that with my old will).

[icemaiden]

Buenchico- thank you for your informative answer. None of the Wills including the 2001 will that was put forward for probate has the words "I hereby revoke all former Wills" etc

[icemaiden]

And my problem is obtaining the 2005 will. If I rang the solicitors that I think has that Will (if Indeed Dad did place a copy with the solicitors)would they be obliged to tell me?

[Eve]

Could be worth getting some free advice. No idea as to what they are like as just found by googling but a free initial consultation could give you a more professional view:

http://contestingawilluk.co.uk/lost_will.aspx

Barmaid would be the best person on here to assist if you can attract her attention.