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Entitlements and Disputes

   my auntie died recently and for years has always said if anything hapens to her she would leave her house and monies to me in her will.she has had a gentleman living with her for about 14 yrs they are not married . he was an alchoholic and i have always had my suspicions about him .in january this year my auntie and gentleman who lived with her went to her soliciters and changed the will i have heard he is to get the house monies and car for himself i beleive she was forced into doing this is there anything i can do also in her will it says if anything happened to him everything goes to me but i think he will get rid of everything and i will be left with nothing can i do anything about this.can i contest the will


You may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance Act if you can prove that your Aunt had said that you would recieve the estate.

However I would go and get a Solicitors oppinion before taking any action

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My father recently died of cancer, I am his only child. My mother died 4 years ago and my dad remarried about 20 months ago. I was excluded from all the planning of the funeral by his new wife - we do not have a very good relationship!

He left a will, which is in the early stages of "probate" (is that the correct term). I am also not an executor of his will and from a brief chat with his solicitor, who was helpful, (within the required confidentiality) suggested I will only be left a few personal possessions in the will and there will be nothing for this grandchildren.

I always had a good relationship with my father, although it became more difficult once my mum died and the whole relationship with him/new wife I found, difficult but tried to keep it on reasonable terms for his sake.

I am considering contesting the will on the grounds of "undue influence" and possibly mental capacity as he did have cancer on the brain; it is really gutting and hard to take to be excluded like this and would appreciate some general advise before I take things further.

I was not financially dependant upon him and the will was drawn up using a solicitor.

I assume this is in the strictest confidence

Many thanks



All I can suggest is that you get some independent advice from an independent Solicitor. You may be able to make a claim against his estate under the Inheriance Act as you are his only surviving blood relative.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My father lived with my Grandmother for over 20 years. In this time he paid a vast majority of the bills and repairs and even an extension on the home and also looked after my Grandmother who was in her 80's. In my Grandmothers Will, she left the house and everything to my Dad. Sadly and unexpectedly my Father died, suddenly - just five weeks before my Grandmother and in my Grandmothers Will she stated in the event of my Dad's death that the estate is to be divided equally between her surviving Grandchildren. This is myself and my sister and my three cousins. My sister and I think it unfair that my cousins should have 3/5th's of the estate in light of my fathers considerable contributions to the house but they are adamant that they are not letting my sister and I have even a 50/50 split - is there nothing we can do to contest this? My Dad even paid off their fathers (my uncles) liabilities when he passed away and the list goes on it seems so unfair and that they are after all they can get.


I do not thinks so as it was entirely upto your Grandmother to distribute her estate as she pleased. As your father passed away before her, his will has no relevance as the estate never actually passed to him first.

I think you should get some independent legal advice.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    on what grounds is it possible to contest a will? my partner's mother has left her house to her daughter and any money in her estate to her son(a difference of about £150,000. She has done this on being assured by her daughter that we have a house and she doesn't . She has neglected to tell her that we have ahuge mortgage and she has lived all her married life in rent free accommodation. My partner wishes to contest the will on grounds of fairness. Is this an appropriate challenge?


Not in my view, the testator can make what provisions they like in the will. You would have to show that you relied on the testator for your wellbeing to have the will changed. That said it is always sensible to see a Solicitor to get a legal opinion.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My uncle has just died. He had a partner but they were not legally married. I am his only surviving relative. His partner states that he has left no will and therefore am not legally entitled to any of his estate. My father before his death assured me that my uncle had indeed made a will and that my father was the executor. Can I trace if he did leave a will. I do not know which solicitor he would have used but do know that he owned property in the uk. Any help please


You need to instruct a Solicitor and quickly. They will be able to look into this for you. If you are his only living relative and he has no will then his estate will pass to you, but I would get advice on this asap as you will need to obtain Letters of Administration to have the estate put into your name.

If no will was made then his partner is not entitled to any of his assets except her share of any joint bank accounts or any property that was held as joint tenants in equity as they would fall outside the estate.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My partners mother died in September this year after suffering from cancer for 6 months. Unfortunately upon her death we soon discovered that she had not made a will. My partners mother was divorced and my partner has two brothers. My partner is currently obtaining probate himself, however, one of this brothers is now saying that their mother verbally instructed her wishes to him and that he is the only one of the three brothers that should inherit her estate. Does his brother have any legal standing without a will, even though he says he has witnesses? What will happen to the estate, especially as it appears he will contest probate?


On the face of it the estate will pass between the 3 brothers equally as she was divorced and the ex Husband is now excluded from the estate. Your bother has applied to act as administrator of the estate and to apply for letters of administration. Whoever becomes the administrators will have to follow the strict rules of intestacy and if there was no valid will the estate will be divided in accordance with the law.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I am executor for a will which states that the deceased building society accounts should be left to her son. Most of the available money is in these accounts. Does this mean that every effort should be made to pay all the debts/costs/taxes etc from other money?


More information is required before answering this question in full.

The Administation of Estates Act 1925 lists an order in which assets should be used to pay debts and testamentary expenses.

In the absence of a direction in the Will the expenses would be paid from property of the deceased which had not been specifically bequeathed to a person in the Will i.e. from the residue.

If there are insufficient funds it maybe that beneficiaries will have to pay the expenses on a pro rata basis.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My husband has had numerous affairs and been a violent drunkard for the last l5 years of our marriage. He came back here as he is joint owner of our home.
If I make a will in favour of my half of the house and assets to my two sons, could he contest this? I really do not want him to benefit in any way after the way he has treated our family.


To dispose of your share of your home you will need to ensure that your property is held as Tenants in Common. This means that whilst the property is held in joint names your shares are equal and separate. It may be that your property is held as Joint Tenants in which case notice must be served on your Husband of your intention to 'sever the joint tenancy'. I suggest that you seek the advice of a solicitor who will assist you with this. Your Husband will only be able to contest your Will if he argues under The Inheritance (Provision of Family and Dependents)Act 1975 that you have not made reasonable financial provision for him in the circumstances.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I live with my partner, we have lived together 2 years but are not married. In the event of either of our deaths, what will happen to our house and personal belongings, will they go to the partner left or to my family or his? Does anyone else have a claim on our belongings?


This section of the site should answer your question:
Frequently Asked Questions

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    If I were to exclude my spouse and children what proportion would they be legally entitled to under Uk law and would they have to challenge the will in court or is there automatic levels ?


Your wife and children may make a claim under The Inheritance (Provision of Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

The ground under which they can claim is that you have not made reasonable provision for them. This usually equates to reasonable maintenance for your wife and dependent children.

To establish reasonableness, consideration will be taken of the financial position of your wife and children and other beneficiaries of your estate; your obligations to each party; the size of your estate and any other matter that is relevant and is brought to the attention of the court. Accordingly there is no hard and fast rule.

An application will need to be made to the court, by your wife and children within 6 months after the Grant of Probate.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I have re-married and have 3 children of mine.My husband has 2 children from his previous marriage. We wish to leave everything to the survivor should one of us die.On the second death we wish to divide equally the estate between all 5 children. Should the survivor re-marry(& why not)we wish to ensure that the estate does not pass to the new spouse when the survivor dies,but that the 5 children still recieve all from the estate & it does not pass on to the new spouse.Is this possible? If this is not `sorted` then there is the possibility of the new spouses own family claiming all, & our children claiming nothing.Is the only way to get round this just not re-marrying? Is it possible to ensure that,say,the new spouse could live in the property until their death,(not be able to sell it & claim the proceeds)& then the proceeds go to our children?(& none of her/his family)We both agree life should go on in the event of one of our deaths, but wish to ensure that should the survivor be MAD enough to get re-married, that the surviving children do not lose out.This includes gifts.Is there a way of ensuring that if the survivor does re-marry,then the estate automatically goes to the children(ie in `trust`)& on the new spouse`s death all goes back to the children? This is complicated, but it must have happened before! Please HELP!


There are ways of carrying out your wishes!

One suggestion would be, on the first death, for the deceased's share to pass to the survivor as a life interest. This means that the survivor can use the assets/property during his or her life however the capital element cannot be touched, this would then pass to the children on the death of the survivior. (It would not preclude the survivor from moving house etc.) It is usually beneficial to have fairly equal division of assets including the matrimonial home which should be held as tenants in common i.e the property is still held in joint names but your shares in the property are equal and separate.

I do not know if any maintenance is being paid by either of you for the benefit of the children, if you are, consideration must also be made for providing reasonable provision for your dependents.

In view of your circumstances I must stress that you both seek legal advice from a local solicitor as soon as possible.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    my father is dying and neither he or my mother have any wills drawn up added to which my mother will not discuss. I am fearful that on my father's death my mother may have trouble accessing his bank accounts and claiming on his personal forces pension and private pension without suffering reams of red tape. Can you clarify whether everything in my fathers name will automatically transfer to my mother and is my mother responsible for clearing any debts in his name or are they cleared after his death?


Your mother will receive all of your Father's estate if his estate is less than £125,000. If the estate is over £125,000 your mother will be entitled to a life interest in one half of the amount over £125,000, the remaining half will pass to you and your brothers and sisters on trust.

Any joint accounts held will automatically pass to your mother.

In my experience pension companies are swift in their responses particularly if correspondance is marked urgent.

Any debts owed by your father will be paid from his estate.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I have recently produced a legal seperation before divorce deed from my husband, if i change my will to state my parents get my assets, if i die, as i still am legally married, would my husband still get the contents of my will, or do my parents get it as per my instructions.


Your will would take precedence unless your husband applied under the Inheritance Act, but he would have to show that he relied on you for his maintenance before your death, which would be doubtful.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I am divorced and have several pensions. I wish to leave everything to my 3 children and grandchild. Can pensions be included in this?


You will have to check with your pension trustees as to whether the fund itself is transferable. Most funds have what is called 'death in service benefit', which allows the trustees to make specific payments to nominated persons prior to the pension maturing.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My grandmother recently passed away aged 99. She had lived in a residential home and had no assets apart from a joint bank account with me. When I have paid her funeral expenses there will be about £4,000 left in the account what action should I take.

Thanks


The joint account is not included in her estate as it is an asset that passes by survivorship, much like a jointly owned house. You probably do not need to take any action as this money is jointly yours in any event.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My father refuses to make a will. Should he continue to refuse to make a will how will his estate be divided upon his death. I have one brother and one sister.


You will both be entitled to apply to the Probate Registry for Letters of Administration and thereafter to administer the estate. You will both be entitled to his estate equally. I assume in answering this that your mother has predeceased.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    Could I leave my will to a best friend if anything should happen to me as I don't want any of my brothers or sisters to have and how do I go about doing this?


You can leave your estate to any one you like in your will.
If you have maintained a relative, they may be able to make a claim after you die under the Inheritance Act.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My grandfather made a will in 1995, leaving £20,000 to my auntie that he had virtually no contact with for 25 years due to a family fall out, he also added a cavet explaining why he had done this and was attatched to the will, he left the remainder to my mother. In 1999 my mother died and he changed his will again because she refused to come to her funeral. He left the whole estate to my father and I, resigning the old cavet. Now my Grandfather has died my Auntie is threatening to contest the will because she claims he was not in a fit state mentally and my father and I forced him to make his new will. He did not support her in anyway over the years other than two small cheques he sent in his last few months of life when she asked for them directly. He was very vocal about his dislike of her and we have many of his close friends that can confirm his intentions. Can she do this ?


Hopefully your Grandfather sought legal advice when he prepared his latest Will. This will provide evidence from a Solicitor that your Grandfather was fully aware of his actions and was not acting under undue influence from your Father or yourself.

If your Aunt did bring a claim and was successful in persuading the Court that he was of unsound mind then the Will would be invalid and the Rules of Intestacy would apply.

I doubt whether any claim by your Aunt under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 would be successful.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I married a widower 12 years ago who had an eighteen-year-old daughter. My husband died earlier this year. If I die without leaving a Will, will my estate automatically go to my step-daughter or to my parents?


I assume that you have not formally adopted your step-daughter.

If you die without making a will, your estate will pass to your parents if you have no children of your own.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    This is my 2nd marriage, from which I have a child, I have 2 children from my 1st marriage, now I would like to make a will whereby my half of the house would be split between my older children, is this possible please, bearing in mind I am still married to my 2nd husband? Or would my half automatically go to him?


If you currently hold your property as joint tenants, on your death your share of the property will automatically pass to your present husband.

If you do not wish this to take effect then the joint tenancy must be severed so that your shares in the property are separate. Your share can then pass in accordance with the terms of your Will.

I suggest however that careful consideration is given. A situation could occur whereby your older children can enforce the sale of the home to realise their share. This could present difficulties for your husband and your younger child.

As your situation is more complicated I suggest you seek legal advice.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I am still legally married, but have lived apart from my husband for 9 years, I want to make a will and leave my house to be divided between my 2 children, but as I am still married, would my husband be able to make a claim on my house, which belongs to me.


I think more information may be required to give an accurate answer to this. Assuming all fiancial matters were sorted out when you separated 9 years ago and your husband has not supported you in any way since, he should't be able to make any legal claim. I suggest a Will is made as a matter of some urgency as your Husband will inherit some if not all of your estate as matters stand.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My grandparents made a joint will, stating that upon the death of one, the other inherited everything. Once the other grandparent had died, the will made provision for me, my sister, 2 uncles and my aunt. My grandfather died in February this year, and my aunt has now advised my grandmother that she should move her savings to another bank, whereby she has completed the application form as a joint holder with my grandmother. What would happen to the account, upon the death of my grandmother and would it override the will, as the account would be in joint names. My aunt has told us that it would be best for her to operate the account, as she is able to access it easier that my grandmother, but we have our suspicions.


This is a potentially difficult situation. Assets which are held jointly usually pass to the survivor. However it may be possible to provide evidence to suggest that the monies held in the account were your Grandmother’s and that the fact your Aunt became a signatory to the account only aided the administration of the account.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My Uncle has recently died without making a will. His wife(my aunt)is still alive and also has no will.They have no children and she is now in care and is mentaly incapable of making a will. I understand that their joint estate valued at just under £200,000 goes automatically to her. Is this correct?

She is one of seven brothers and sisters. My question is, when she dies does the estate then automatically go to the remaining six family members or is there any alternative division process?

Thank you



Under the Rules of Intestacy if you Aunt dies her net estate will pass equally to her brothers or sisters, if any of the brothers or sisters have predeased then their share passes equally to their children.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My mother-in-law died 5 months ago of cancer. All her children were of the opinion she had made a new will when the cancer was diagnosed. She asked her son to be Executor of her will. However her partner (unmarried) has now stated he is Executor and that his solicitors hold a Will for my mother-in-law dated 13 years ago. All paperwork has been removed from her house (presumably by her partner). How do we proceed without causing a rift with her partner (i.e. does he legally have to show us the will, how do we find out if there is a Will held elsewhere?).


Unfortunately there is no unified system of registraing Wills in England & Wales. Wills can be deposited at the High Court at: Record Keepers Dept, Principal Registry of the Family Division, 42-49 High Holborn London WC1V 6NP Tel 0171 936 7000. It is more probable that any new Will is filed at the drafting Solicitors office. If this is known I suggest contact is made with them as soon as possible to establish if they are holding a valid Will. If a specific solicitor is not known and you live in a small geographical area then contact could be made with all solicitors to see if they hold the Will. A Company called Willsearch may also be able to help, for a fee, Tel.0800 0287028.

If the partner proceeds with an application for Probate the granting of the same becomes a public document and a copy can be obtained from the Probate Registry. As Executor the partner must distribute the estate in accordance with your mother in laws wishes.

Possibly you should seek the advice of a local solicitor to help you.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    Can a will be taken to court if one of the heirs doesn't agree with what her inheritance is? Can this person do this and hold up the will? She wants more but my father-in-law divided the will 10/30/60. Hers is the 10 and my husband is the 60. The other brother is 30 and they both tried to get my husband to give part of his to split three ways. He doesn't feel he should.

Can she tie this up and will attorneys use up the money in the estate? This has been the threat to us that the money will get spent on court.


A beneficiary of the will can apply under the Inhertance Act if they can show they were maintained by the deceased and the amount they have been bequeathed would cause them hardship. The costs will have to come from somewhere if it is to be defended. If the person wishing to claim, loses the application then they will have to pay the costs, and visa versa if the defendants lose. Most cases are settled o the basis of a negotiated settlement and the parties bear their own costs.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    I am an executor. One of the pecuniary gifts in the will was left to someone who died a few years ago. What happens to his £2,000?


If there is no specific clause in the will passing it on to his children or another alternative beneficiary, then the money will go into the residuary estate.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My father recently passed away. When going through his paperwork we found two wills. The first will included all his 3 children and was signed. The second will only contained 2 of his children but was never signed. I understand the second will, will not supercede the first but the child left out of the second will has not had contact with my father for ten years.

This is worrying me as my fathers estate will have to be divided into three equal shares.My brother resides in my fathers house and he himself has spent alot of money on the house. I will be signing my share to my brother as I feel it's his home as he has lived there all his life.

I'm worried that my sister can just come back into out lives and take her share leaving my brother without a home. He is only young and is worried about the situation and the legalities that come with it.

My grandma is one of the executor's of the will, (the other being a solicitor),and she feels that my sister should not recieve anything.

It's a very difficult situation that has left us all angry and confused.


I am afraid that on the face of your question that the 1st will is the valid will and the second is not.

I feel you will need specialist probate advice on this matter and we would be more than happy to refer you to someone if you need to.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor

    My wife and I are considering a Will at present. We have a house and assets but everything is currently in my name. What happens if I die but specify that everything should be left to my wife?


It is difficult to answer this question without knowing the full value of your estate or indeed your circumstances. From the brief information supplied there should be no problem in leaving your estate to your wife.

Answered by:Mark Keenan, Editor