Concerned about a Will?

It can come as a shock to find that the plans of someone you know who recently passed were not followed through. It could be where a close relative thought that they were going to be a beneficiary, only to have been excluded. There may be circumstances where you may suspect that a Will was not executed correctly.

Recently there has been a criminal case where the Crown Court convicted an executor of a Will for fraud. The executor stole £110,000 instead of distributing it to the deceased’s friend as instructed in her Will. By the time the friend tried to recover the money, it had been spent on holidays and a new car by the executor.

No one wants to start investigating a matter so soon after someone close to you has passed away. However, delaying could allow any breaches of an executor’s duty to go unnoticed. For those reasons it is advisable to not delay in making these investigations and resolve these issues as soon as possible.

Thankfully, there is a way of finding out more information. If you have concerns over how someone executed a Will - then you can ask a solicitor to make enquiries. A solicitor would usually make enquiries as long as you have a potential interest in the estate.

Furthermore, if there is any concern about an executor applying for a Grant of Probate, a solicitor can also lodge a 'caveat'. Anyone with an interest in the Estate would then be notified of any application for a grant of probate and given the opportunity to object. This is useful if there are still unanswered or pending enquiries.

Only people with a real interest in the Estate can apply for a caveat. This does not only include people named in the Will. For example, you may have an interest if you were named in a previous Will. Both of these methods can be used to discover information and put to rest any queries or doubts there may exist about a Will.

Please contact us so we can advise you on how to prevent your will from being challenged so your wishes are followed.