defend a will

[sarajane33]

Has anyone been through or knows about contesting a will? My father has just passed away and now my brother is contesting the will as my father left everything to me. I was the main carer for my father and had been around through both my father passing away and my mother, where as my brother only turned up if he wanted money. Now i understand a will can be contested however if he were to win, as he is saying I made my father change the will, The will that stands prior to this one (as this will was only made 3 weeks brfore my fathers death) states my son inherites everything, not me nor my brother and this will is over 20 years old. Surely if it went to court it would go to my son if I has been found to have made my father change his mind - which I did not do, I had no idea until afterwards what had been amended. I feel sick with all this my poor father had been through enough with my brother and now he is dragging me into his nasty life. My father was addament he was not to have anything as he had had enough over the years and did not want his wife to get her hands on any of his and my mothers hard earned money. Now they have been given legal aid and I dont qualify, but I do not see how they would get legal aid if the previous will does not have him in it anyway. Please can you help.

[woofgang]

Having been through problems with a will a few years ago, I would suggest that you get some legal advice on this. Loads of lawyers offer a fixed fee interview and take it from me the law is a MINEFIELD

[sarajane33]

thanks

[welshlibranr]

we're going through a similar problem at present, more complicated probably, my brother in law was the executor of his mother's will, but produced a forged 'new' will leaving everything to guess who? yes himself! it goes to Crown Court in a few weeks, been a long drawn out affair, with solicitors and barristers, it's been going on for over three years now, and caused so much ill feeling, such a shame that one greedy person can destroy a family! hope your's is resolved more quickly and amicably!......

[fredpuli47]

When your father made his last will did he employ a solicitor to prepare it ? And who witnessed it ? Were the witnesses wholly independent e.g the solicitor's clerks ?

A solicitor is bound to satisfy himself that the person making the will (testator) knows what he is doing and acts freely in making it. He would normally enquire what children the testator has. That's because he is alive to the risk of claims being made, not simply because a child is left out but because a child, mentioned or not, might have some claim, as, for example, a dependant, to something more from the estate [some people have such a claim if they were being maintained by the deceased].It is, in any case, rather unusual for someone to keep a child out of their will. He would be at pains to prevent future litigation, however valid or however futile, and would probably ask why the instruction to omit one child in favour of the other was given . That being so, a statement from the solicitor is valuable and may be fatal to the claimant's case.The solicitor is bound, on request, to provide you with a statement of the circumstances of the will being made.

Duress, that the testator was forced against his wishes to make the will a certain way, is almost impossible to establish. The claimant is, therefore, reduced to saying that the testator didn't appreciate the nature or extent of the gifts he was making (i.e he misunderstood the words in the will or the overall effect of them). That seems highly improbable in a will as simple as this must have been, effectively 'I give everything I own at my death to my daughter'! Anyway Judges aren't concerned with stopping human perversity in wills; they may find behaviour perverse or eccentric, not something they'd do, but if it is done freely and knowingly it stays done ( that's a general principle, not a comment on your case !)

I suspect your brother is trying it on in the hope that you'll give him something to go away.

[tamborine]

1.The contestor lodges a caveat at the Probate Office; thus preventing probate.
2.A Mediation is sought for an agreed financial settlement between you & the contestor, if unsuccessful then the case is judged in Court.
3.Normally the loser pays all legal exes incurred.

The circumstances of drawing up the Will, medical notes, GP/solicitors statements & all other supporting evidence should be sought to strengthen your case in Court.