Will

[jennyjoan]

As you know a friend of my sista died and was buried last week. There is extreme malice between the friend's son and friend's siblings etc.

However he has to go the Solicitors on Monday with one of these siblings and he is wondering is it the will of his mother because it sounds so quick.

[Peter Pedant]

hmmm . .. . will he ?

since it is a fren' - I would let them at each others throats
keeping silent and musing how even the simplest thing can be made complex by personal malice and grudges

I would only advise - that if the will specifies A to albert and B to Bertie then it is enforceable
and if it just says everything to all of them in various parts (40,40,20 say) then if they cant agree a judge is likely to rule - sell the whole lot and divide in proportion

people make really heavy weather of wills

[jennyjoan]

I know they do Peter but the question I was asking - could a will be read so quickly.

[fiction-factory]

I think wills are normally on;y read in Agatha Christie novels. If teh value of tehe state was very small it could be distributed now but if probate is needed that could take a month or two so it'll be too early to distribute now. Maybe the siblings were named as executors so solicitor is informing them, although I'm nt sure why a meeting would be needed -unkess the solicitor is just looking to ways to bill the estate

[bednobs]

wills are not "read" al la agatha christie

[Peter Pedant]

yeah - why not ?
my mother had distributed her will
and so we sortta knew as soon as she drew her last breath

( and o god the squabbling and possing around started immediately - the old 'I will do this' and then doing nothing and then the 'I nevuh said I would do that.' -and in the end we sold everything and divided by four. Even tho it was the bottom of a market and we were advised to wait and one of us would not....with the immortal words - "it is my money and I have worked hard for it.") They hadnt

[Peter Pedant]

the fren' hasnt told us
the solicitor may have the only copy of the will.

[Buenchico]

>>> However he has to go the Solicitors on Monday

Unless they're in the army, under arrest or on their way to prison (etc), nobody ever has to go anywhere. So he must have received an invitation to attend the solicitor's office and it seems very odd that the invitation didn't at least give a hint as to why he should want to do so!

The first thing that happens when someone dies (in relation to inheritances) is that the executor(s) need to get hold of the will. They'll then need to collect together all of the necessary information in order to apply for probate.

Since it would seem to be highly unlikely that probate has already been granted (given the short timespan), the executor(s) of the will must still be at the 'information gathering' stage.

Indeed, it's possible that the executors (if more than one executor was named in the will) have yet to meet to discuss the way forward. If, say, the will named the solicitor and the two siblings as joint executors, then the solicitor would obviously need to speak to the other two people involved.

Similarly, if the will was only held by the solicitor (without him/her actually being an executor) but named the two siblings as executors, then the solicitor would need to ensure that they were both aware of their duties (while probably dropping very broad hints that they could pay him to do the job for them!)

[Peter Pedant]

// unkess the solicitor is just looking to ways to bill the estate//

if the solicitor is named as an executor then he will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of endless billing. - which will go arn and arn as the quarrelling goes arn
(wowzer - sorry a line creeping in from They Shoot Horses Dont They - beg pardon)

[jennyjoan]

All too complicated for me.

The people who are involved are the son and his aunt.

[Prudie]

My brother dragged me to the solicitor's before my mum's funeral!! He was keen to get things moving, we were both executors as well as beneficiaries I suppose.

[Barmaid]

JJ, I wouldnt get involved. You are trying to ask for advice on second or third hand information which is never going to work. You could tell your sistER something incorrect which she could pass on and upset people. I think its best left.

I know you want to help, but with such scant information its just not possible.

[EDDIE51]

^ good advice. It is 3rd hand information. Friend to Sista to you to us
The story gets altered , misunderstood or biased in some way as it gets passed on. You do not really know what the situation is, just stay out of it. Even more chance it has been misunderstood or misinterpreted as there is a family squabble at the heart of it.

[DTCwordfan]

yep Conne, my thoughts are the same as Barmaid's etc - stay clear, a can of worms potentially and you don't need it.

[Peter Pedant]

oh come on scarfaces !
this is AB

has there been one instance ( oops yes one - cassa evicted an awful tenant) where someone has asked for advice in these hallowed columns - and then taken it and reported back ?

[jennyjoan]

Oh take it from me I am so NOT involved - just curious as to the legal system but thanks to everyone who answered.

I have enough problems of my own to be involved with a lad I barely know.

[ummmm]

Ahhh...so you're just being nosey :-)

[jennyjoan]

Yes you could say that Ummmm - isn't everybody

[jennyjoan]

There is about £300,000+ at stake here - so a stiff contest.

[Islay]

It’s not about the money some one has died that was loved!!!!

[anneasquith]

We don't know the lady was loved Islay ?