Intestacy Rules (No will when dying)

Manse

Manse

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Looking for some advice.
My wife is at the moment with her dying Mom , her younger brother and her moms partner.
basicaly her brother is trying to take over everything by saying its his job because he is the male of the family and my wife was adopted at birth by them. i know she is still classified by law as their child and has same rights.
does anyone know if its true that it has to be the son even if he is 10yrs younger.
Don't want to sound cold hearted at a time like this but when their dad passed 3 yrs ago he did the same and a lot of money went missing including the life insurance for the funeral.
 
I don't believe the son has any more rights, and your wife being adopted has nothing to do with it. Maybe you need to speak to the solicitor that handled your wife's father's estate, as it will probably be the same solicitor this time.

Explain your concerns to the solicitor, your wife is entitled to a breakdown of what monies were left and where they went.

My sympathies to your wife, it must be a tough time for her.
 
First hopefully it all goes OK.

Socially and potentially culturally speaking, yes the job would traditionally fall to the oldest male of the house but in the eyes of the law he has no extra rights.

AFAIK anybody should be all to query the will. Most likely if there was a solicitor involved in your fathers will then he be handling the arrangements again. However there is no legal requirement for a solicitor or a will to be involved and for example in my family, all the affairs were handled by the family.

I hope your mother-in-law has a will else this could get messy.
 
When someone dies without leaving a will , usually you would apply to the court to appoint someone to administer the estate - Probate.

That person can then wind up the deceased's estate with the courts backing , no need to involve a solicitor as they will just add more to the costs.

Its pretty straightforward and you can find out loads of info on the courts website.

The only thing being you would actually have to wait for the person to pass away................

HTH
 
nilrem said:
When someone dies without leaving a will , usually you would apply to the court to appoint someone to administer the estate - Probate.

That person can then wind up the deceased's estate with the courts backing , no need to involve a solicitor as they will just add more to the costs.

Its pretty straightforward and you can find out loads of info on the courts website.

The only thing being you would actually have to wait for the person to pass away................

HTH
Click to expand...

If there was no solicitor involved in the father's estate, is it possible to find out what monies/property were left and where they went? Surely manse's wife can make a case if she feels her brother has misplaced monies that she was entitled to. It can't be that easy to just misappropriate things, there must be some kind of documentation filed somewhere.

If you feel your wife was cheated last time around, i would definitely insist on a solicitor being involved this time around. You might say its an unnecessary expense, but in this case it sounds like its necessary.
 
is there any way a will can be made? is there an old will at all? Try get her mum to make a will and make someone an executor (sp?). All they will do is make sure everything is collected in then shared out (an executor can be 1 of the parties involved but doesn't have to be - it could be someone trusted outside the famiuly to oversee that everything is shared)

If there's no will it's the law that decides who gets what - but a solicitor can be used to oversee how the estate is settled (probate) - if it goes to probate, it can take YEARS (solicitors love dragging their feet)

i went thru this when my parents died, i was 25 and had a younger disabled brother. we were sole beneficiairies but my uncles were the executors of the will. As the will was written when i was 16, i applied to have them step down (they agreed) and i became the administrator for the estate as it went thru probate.

Get a will, even a video camera with witnesses, get the basic info, date who's present, who she wants administering the will and how it's shared. Something. i know it's a tough time but sometimes someone has to be brave and look logically at things and plan for the future.
 
The last 2 months have been a nightmare for us, 1st my Dad is still in hospital after his stroke.
My wife went to visit her over the week end came back Sunday only to shoot off back Tuesday when she was rushed into hospital

no will was made (she didn't like to temp fate) but also she live 220miles away from us now after moving to the coast and her brother about 120miles.
He has already started to phone up her banks and look for bank books so looks like its going to be messy again.

MoS she is in a coma after all her organs have shut down so no chance of that and when she was awake she was dilusional.
basicaly in all the years i have known her she was hypochondriac and years off taking tablets that was not needed or even prescribed to her as took its toll.
 
Last edited:
Manse said:
The last 2 months have been a nightmare for us, 1st my Dad is still in hospital after his stroke.
My wife went to visit her over the week end came back Sunday only to shoot off back Tuesday when she was rushed into hospital

no will was made (she didn't like to temp fate) but also she live 220miles away from us and her brother about 120miles.
He has already started to phone up her banks and look for bank books so looks like its going to be messy again.
Click to expand...

I would get a solicitor down the hospital asap to make a legal will , it will save a whole load of hassle afterwards and no one can then contest it's legality later on.

HTH
 
I think it's disgusting when someone is on their deathbed the first thing that comes into relatives minds is money money money... relatives crawling out of the wood work trying to ensure their stake of any estate. If your wifes brother did make her late farthers money go missing then to be honest I feel pretty sorry for the man, IF that was the case.

IF that was the case, then I would have thought your mother-in-law would have taken steps to ensure it didn't happen again. I would say to just remain protective of her, and not her estate and make sure he doesn't get her to sign anything. Don't let him drag yourselves into a battle over money, let him get on with it and you keep your dignity, IF this is the case it sounds like he will be very lonely when he is on his death bed and might even acheive to be the richest man in grave yard!

Very emotive issuse but I think you need to focus on your mother and show class and retain dignity and honour where her brother doesn't. I'm sure you could always take him to court a year or 2 down the line if he did steal anything - I'm sure you could have done that they the farthers estate too. Money doesn't just go missing without a trace unless it was in a suit case. Things are just things and money is just money, you can't take them with you, they aren't really very important at all in the true light of day.
 
I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like the son is a sh1tbag, support your wife cause it's going to be a long, drawn out issue.

Try get ahead of him, contact the banks ahead of him, explain to them whats happening, try get the banks to put some sort of hold on any funds currently being held. Also, make sure a solicitor is involved and wait for probate - that way no one can touch any money until the law says so.

Cash, valuables, small nickable assets however are probably at risk and there's not much you'll be able to do about it. Look at making an asset list, valuables, takes lots of photos of jewelry, antiques, etc. With dates, witnesses. This can all be used as evidence, make sure EVERYONE in the family helps and does it together. Photos are good as i use them for valuables incase i need them for insurance claims.
 
Looking at this site,

How Does Probate Work? - The Will Expert (UK)

It looks like if somebody dies without a will then any close relative (spouce or child) can apply to for control of assets. Sadly in this time when people should be making their final piece with your MIL it might turn into a shit storm.

If you are worried about BIL then sad as it sounds I really suggest getting hold of a solicitor. It may cost a couple of hundred pounds but you stand to save an awful lots of problems. I think the key is to get your MIL to write a will if possible, it will stop anybody grabbing anything that she did not want to happen.

Is there any chance you can speak to BIL and take some sense into him ?

As MoS says, get documented evidence / photos of anything valuable, either expensive or with sentimental value.
 
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