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Wills

(27 Posts)
Sallywally1 Wed 06-Mar-24 09:42:13

Story in the daily mail (where else!) about a man who died and left all his estate around £500,000 to his two adult children and nothing to his five grandchildren who he said never went to see him. Surely a person has the right to leave his or her money and goods to whoever they want. Now the grandchildren are complaining. Well, all I can say is ‘your gonna reap just what you sow!’

NotSpaghetti Thu 07-Mar-24 14:35:31

Maybe, Callistemon21 - but £50 is thought out and quite specific.

My husband was left a fraction of an aunt's estate (something like 4/29ths) which was very precise and obviously thought through. Other people had smaller or larger fractions.

This £50 feels a bit like that in its precision. I would have thought it's hard to challenge. ... but I'm not a lawyer!

Fair2good Thu 07-Mar-24 11:47:25

GSM - how true !

Callistemon21 Thu 07-Mar-24 11:22:57

😁

Germanshepherdsmum Thu 07-Mar-24 11:19:43

Fair2good

Surely courts shouldn’t interfere when someone has made a legally valid will, and made their wishes clear. One of my stepsons has made zero effort to be any part of my husband’s life except when he wants something. Two visits in five years have been made each time requesting money, one to help with a car and the other for a house deposit. My husband gave him the cash and was then told it was really my stepsons money anyway as my husband had inherited it from his mother. This boy has never as much as bought my husband a birthday card or sent a Christmas card let alone any gift. He’s never taken my husband out for a drink or rang him to see how he was. He is not in our wills and for good reason. He is selfish and entitled and on one visit actually asked my husband how much he thought our house was worth.

Courts don’t interfere. Disgruntled people interfere.

Callistemon21 Thu 07-Mar-24 11:16:33

NotSpaghetti

^However, because of the change of will, they were entitled to nothing. Well, they did get a token £50 each.^

So nothing to complain about really as he had specifically left them £50 each.
Seems fair to me.

It was best not to have done that, give them an inch and they went to court.

Fair2good Thu 07-Mar-24 11:15:57

Surely courts shouldn’t interfere when someone has made a legally valid will, and made their wishes clear. One of my stepsons has made zero effort to be any part of my husband’s life except when he wants something. Two visits in five years have been made each time requesting money, one to help with a car and the other for a house deposit. My husband gave him the cash and was then told it was really my stepsons money anyway as my husband had inherited it from his mother. This boy has never as much as bought my husband a birthday card or sent a Christmas card let alone any gift. He’s never taken my husband out for a drink or rang him to see how he was. He is not in our wills and for good reason. He is selfish and entitled and on one visit actually asked my husband how much he thought our house was worth.

M0nica Thu 07-Mar-24 10:56:54

Romola Wills say whatever the testator wants them to say.

Yes, in many families that are united and cohesive, if an adult child dies then often their potential in heritance will be left to their children, but there are plenty of wills where that doesn't happen for all sorts of reasons, and none. In this case, where the son and grandchildren had ignored their parent/grandparent, not visiting him, even when he was ill. The grandparent decided to leave his estate to the children he had that cared for him and he saw regularly. Others would have done differently.

My grandfather, who had a large family, left his whole estate, essentially, just the house he lived in, to the unmarried daughter, who had lived at home and juggleed working and care of her parents.. All the other children knew what their father's will said, and everyone was in total agreement that this was the right thing to do.

NotSpaghetti Wed 06-Mar-24 14:36:38

However, because of the change of will, they were entitled to nothing. Well, they did get a token £50 each.

So nothing to complain about really as he had specifically left them £50 each.
Seems fair to me.

Callistemon21 Wed 06-Mar-24 13:23:32

Joseann

Let that be the lesson then!

Yes!

Look after your Granny and Grandad 😁

Joseann Wed 06-Mar-24 13:22:50

Let that be the lesson then!

Callistemon21 Wed 06-Mar-24 13:07:17

This man had changed his will after his son died.
The son's children, who hadn't bothered with their Grandad at all, thought they should have inherited what they claimed was their father's share.

However, because of the change of will, they were entitled to nothing. Well, they did get a token £50 each.

Ladyleftfieldlover Wed 06-Mar-24 13:01:30

My step-grandfather’s will left everything to his three step-children and two nieces. However my father had died so his share came to me and my brother and sister. One of the nieces had also died so her share went to her two children. No problems.

Callistemon21 Wed 06-Mar-24 12:51:25

Romola

I thought that most wills say that if an adult child beneficiary has died, their share goes in equal parts to that beneficiary's children. Just saying.

He could have left it all to the dogs' home if he'd wanted to.

He left it to those who cared about him.

Germanshepherdsmum Wed 06-Mar-24 12:07:38

It’s entirely up to the testator. This man had his reasons for not wanting that. Perfectly good ones.

Romola Wed 06-Mar-24 12:00:14

I thought that most wills say that if an adult child beneficiary has died, their share goes in equal parts to that beneficiary's children. Just saying.

Callistemon21 Wed 06-Mar-24 10:46:56

he was particularly upset about the lack of contact at the time of one of his great-granddaughters' weddings.

He complained that he was not even sent a piece of wedding cake

It seems they didn't care about him when he was alive but want his money now he's gone.

M0nica Wed 06-Mar-24 10:34:35

The news reports say that the deceased had seen little or nothing of his deceased son ((before decease), nor his grandchildren by that son.

He was entirely free to leave his money where he wished. Unlike other countries, like France, we do not have any laws to say that you have to leave money to certain relations.

The only way they could have upset the will is if they had proved clearly and convincingly that his other children, or a n other had unduly influenced his decision to cut out his son and their descendants and that evidence was lacking.

Callistemon21 Wed 06-Mar-24 10:24:31

Witzend

It’s been fairly usual in this family for the adult children of the deceased to pass on a good chunk of what they’ve inherited to their own adult dcs anyway. Whether or not those Gdcs had been included to a lesser extent.

Their parent, the deceased's son, had also died.

Witzend Wed 06-Mar-24 10:04:07

It’s been fairly usual in this family for the adult children of the deceased to pass on a good chunk of what they’ve inherited to their own adult dcs anyway. Whether or not those Gdcs had been included to a lesser extent.

Sallywally1 Wed 06-Mar-24 09:55:45

But yes, his money, his choice. I just think the grandchildren sound grabby

Sallywally1 Wed 06-Mar-24 09:55:09

Sorry, not sure how to do links!

Lovetopaint037 Wed 06-Mar-24 09:54:09

Best idea. No squabbling if one child has more or no children than the other.

Germanshepherdsmum Wed 06-Mar-24 09:52:40

I do wish people would give links. Indeed NS, nothing to see here. The grandchildren who contested the will are the children of the man’s deceased son. He left his estate to his two surviving children. His money, his choice.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13153959/grandfather-grandchildren-fortune-judge.html#:~:text=Former%20soldier%20Frederick%20Ward%20Snr,dead%20son%20Fred%20Jr%27s%20children.

NotSpaghetti Wed 06-Mar-24 09:43:49

Surely his children will pass some on as appropriate?

NotSpaghetti Wed 06-Mar-24 09:43:20

Is this really a story?