Inheritance question.....
Discussion
Some advice please. Scenario....
Elsie, Old lady, grandmother, has two daughters:
Belinda (eldest) and Barbara (youngest)
They both have a daughter
Susan, daughter of Belinda. and Maggie, daughter of Barbara.
Elsie has a will, and names Belinda and Barbara as heirs.
Tragically, Belinda, eldest daughter, dies suddenly.
A few months later, Elsie dies.
The will hasn’t been changed.
Does Barbara automatically inherit everything left by Elsie? Does Belinda's daughter Susan automatically get nothing?
Thanks in advance.
Elsie, Old lady, grandmother, has two daughters:
Belinda (eldest) and Barbara (youngest)
They both have a daughter
Susan, daughter of Belinda. and Maggie, daughter of Barbara.
Elsie has a will, and names Belinda and Barbara as heirs.
Tragically, Belinda, eldest daughter, dies suddenly.
A few months later, Elsie dies.
The will hasn’t been changed.
Does Barbara automatically inherit everything left by Elsie? Does Belinda's daughter Susan automatically get nothing?
Thanks in advance.
redjohn said:
In most cases yes unless the will covers the scenario (a good will should) and allows it to pass to grandchild
Well in one of the last memorable conversations with her mother Belinda, Susan (my wife) was told that Elsie had decided to leave everything to her two granddaughters. However looks like the will was never rewritten. Belinda had spent the last 15 years looking after Elsie, whilst Barbara spent her time travelling the world and spending a lot of money that she had previously got from insurance payouts enjoying life. Belinda died of a heart attack with no warning. I believe she died of stress and strain from looking after her own bedridden husband and her mother who was in her 90’s.
So Barbara inherits £700,000 and a detached house, whilst my wife Susan recieved nothing, either from her grandmother or from her own mother, as she left nothing of value.
But just wanted to check that there was no carry forward of anything given belindas death months before her mother’s.
If I read it correctly, in general the children of a deceased beneficiary do not automatically inherit the beneficiary's share. However there is a rather big exception where the beneficiary is a descendent of the testator, in which case more distant descendents do inherit by default. This is covered by s33 of the Wills Act.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict...
https://www.finalduties.co.uk/what-happens-when-a-...
In other words, if Elsie had left money to her friends, or her siblings, then the children of any friends or siblings who died before her would not inherit their parent's share, unless the will said otherwise. However because she left it to her daughters, the opposite applies - the grandchildren do inherit, unless the will says otherwise.
So yes, Susan should get whatever was left to Belinda - unless the will made other provisions. Note the caveat - you really need to know precisely what the will said.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict...
https://www.finalduties.co.uk/what-happens-when-a-...
In other words, if Elsie had left money to her friends, or her siblings, then the children of any friends or siblings who died before her would not inherit their parent's share, unless the will said otherwise. However because she left it to her daughters, the opposite applies - the grandchildren do inherit, unless the will says otherwise.
So yes, Susan should get whatever was left to Belinda - unless the will made other provisions. Note the caveat - you really need to know precisely what the will said.
TTmonkey said:
Well in one of the last memorable conversations with her mother Belinda, Susan (my wife) was told that Elsie had decided to leave everything to her two granddaughters. However looks like the will was never rewritten.
Belinda had spent the last 15 years looking after Elsie, whilst Barbara spent her time travelling the world and spending a lot of money that she had previously got from insurance payouts enjoying life. Belinda died of a heart attack with no warning. I believe she died of stress and strain from looking after her own bedridden husband and her mother who was in her 90’s.
So Barbara inherits £700,000 and a detached house, whilst my wife Susan recieved nothing, either from her grandmother or from her own mother, as she left nothing of value.
But just wanted to check that there was no carry forward of anything given belindas death months before her mother’s.
OP - you’re talking about at least £400,000 at stake, and you’re asking random strangers on the internet for the answer. Think about that for a minute, then go book an appointment for your wife to see a solicitor.Belinda had spent the last 15 years looking after Elsie, whilst Barbara spent her time travelling the world and spending a lot of money that she had previously got from insurance payouts enjoying life. Belinda died of a heart attack with no warning. I believe she died of stress and strain from looking after her own bedridden husband and her mother who was in her 90’s.
So Barbara inherits £700,000 and a detached house, whilst my wife Susan recieved nothing, either from her grandmother or from her own mother, as she left nothing of value.
But just wanted to check that there was no carry forward of anything given belindas death months before her mother’s.
bladebloke said:
OP - you’re talking about at least £400,000 at stake, and you’re asking random strangers on the internet for the answer. Think about that for a minute, then go book an appointment for your wife to see a solicitor.
Yes you are correct. The reason why I’m asking is to find out if that’s the right course of action, or not. If everyone said ‘no your wife has no case’ then I would know that this would be pointless. Food for thought.
TTmonkey said:
Thanks all for advice so far. I’ve orderred the will from the probate service to at least see what it says.
They'll only send you the will if probate has been applied for and granted.In the first post you mention an equal split between daughters, now you seem unsure what is in the will. have you actually seen a will? Even if you have It might not be the latest
TTmonkey said:
Also to add, we’ve never seen the will, so don’t know of how it was specifically set out.
The death happened about 6 months ago and we’ve heard nothing about it in terms of what was left.
If you haven't who has?. If it exists there will be executors who should have applied for Grant of Probate.The death happened about 6 months ago and we’ve heard nothing about it in terms of what was left.
In the meantime you may find this of interest - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/1...
TTmonkey said:
Yes you are correct. The reason why I’m asking is to find out if that’s the right course of action, or not. If everyone said ‘no your wife has no case’ then I would know that this would be pointless.
Food for thought.
The point is that you want a qualified person, who can ask you all the relevant questions (and who carries appropriate insurance) to be the one telling you what routes forward there might be (or not be). Food for thought.
BTW, I should think that the correct answer is probably, at high level, “it depends what the will says”. But the professional you see would be able to tell you if that’s right or wrong, how you might be able to get a copy of the will (if probable hasn’t already been granted - if it has, its a public document and easy to obtain) and, if it doesn’t say what you’d like it to, if there’s any avenue for contesting it (or if there perhaps any options available other than contesting the will).
Presumably if you can afford to write off the possibility of receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds, you can afford to spend a few hundred quid on legal fees to find out if your wife has any right to that money.
Edited by bladebloke on Tuesday 15th January 06:31
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