95yr old frail stubborn mother

Remember that one of the reasons Harold Shipman was caught out in his fraud against Mrs Grundy was that the "will" was poorly and amateurishly made out in a way that no qualified solicitor would have used. He also was unaware that she owned another house. The fraudulent will was what aroused the suspicions of the family and caused them to raise a ruckus until it was looked into properly. We all know what came next ....

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t take custody of the diary. You are the next of kin and have genuine concerns, of which the diary may be evidence.

If you find the neighbour has been granted power of attorney you can report to the OPG concerns about the neighbour’s unsuitability to act as attorney.

It was prescribed for her for a short time believe me if it wasn't the police would have been called.

Am I allowed to keep her diary as evidence without her knowledge. I am worried if I put it back she could just throw it out as an old one as she has a new one on her side table blank at the moment. Or the neighbour might read it before she returns home and hides it. You are such a help I got the forms ready to seek LPA I just hope the neighbour hasn't got it but wouldn't be surprised if she has. Can I challenge it if she has.?
You are an mine of information and so helpful.💐

I would have done exactly what you’ve done in the circumstances and I bet we all would. Was Mum prescribed morphine or was this something the neighbour had to hand?

If Mum is diagnosed as mentally incapable you can apply to the OPG for deputyship and this will enable you to take possession of the card and chequebook and obtain copies of bank statements to enable you to see if any money has been taken. Also to change the locks on the house and take any items of value into your custody. Please liaise with social services and the care home. And share copies of the diary with them. Keep the original safe.

Administration of morphine is what concerns me most in what you’ve discovered, if Mum was compos mentis when writing her diary. If it hadn’t been prescribed for her this is extremely serious. The diary could be excellent evidence of her mental state as well as the grooming.

I have found vital info but I am not very proud of how I got it. It is the only evidence I have to show what I believe is fraud and financial abuse. You will all have a go at me but needs must when you have to fight for your rights.
Mum is a bad writer and speller but she kept a daily diary last year. It shows just how much this person has moved in on her. Shocking things like She would take it on to administer her Morphine at one time, my mum has bad eyesight but she's no medical professional. She has her post office card and gets money for her. She writes cheques, this my daughter in law said she found out during Lockdown. This the tip of the iceberg. I've doubts about her and this confirms it.
What would you have done?

Remember it will only tell you if a power of attorney has been registered - which it has to be before it can be used.

Got this time didn't put 100 at the end thanks

I'll try again

I don’t understand. Form OPG100 requires only names and addresses.

Unable to search I have no code.

Yes, you can make such a search and it’s free. Can be done online - see OPG website. I suggest you do that today pita.

pita can apply to the court for deputyship if her mother isn’t mentally capable. The deputy can then sell the house to pay the care fees. The local authority may make such an application themselves if the family don’t. Unless Mum has plenty of cash, the sale of the house will be necessary - or the LA might simply put a charge on it until it’s sold after Mum passes away. It would be sweet revenge if there were nothing left for the neighbour, but pita would lose out too.

It’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that Mum has granted power of attorney to the neighbour. I will check to see if a search can be made with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Were the Local Authority involved in your mother's move to the home PITA? Is your mother paying her own fees or are the LA? If the latter whoever is acting for your mother will have to sell the house in order to pay for the fees.

The LA can arrange Competency Tests. If she is not competent and has not appointed an Attorney (as in Power of Attorney) I think one would be appointed for her (GSM?) and could exclude the "friend" if it was thought necessary.

I do think you need to move quickly on this as Germanshepherdsmum suggests. This is her field of knowledge.

If there was only one great grandson at the time the will was made he can be clearly identified, but the executors will have to hold his legacy until his eighteenth birthday. If other beneficiaries are named there is no need to specify addresses. None of this invalidates the will, but if you can obtain evidence of coercion or lack of mental capacity when the will was made, those are things that can invalidate the will. You must gather all the evidence you can now. The manager of the home may be your friend here and I hope social services can help.

GSM Will witnessed by the solicitor who composed it and it was in her home not by phone as I said before my mistake. The witnesses where people from the Solicitors inc the actual solicitor who drew up the will.
I will only change the locks after death while the Administration Period is in affect and before Probate.

thank you for that all of you. GSM could I ask you a legal question please. My husband and I as executors have seen her Will and we both thought the same thing, that there is an error in it. She has left a sum of money for her only Great Grandson the wording in the Will is "I Give ......... to my Great grandson ........ and that's is it.

Firstly no addresses and that applies to all beneficiaries but our concern is that her Great grandson is 12years old I thought that anyone under 18 had to have the money put in trust and trustees named in the Will and these instructions should be in the Will. Are we right and if this is an error how does it affect the Will.

At this stage pita would be acting illegally in getting the locks changed. Better for her to retain the moral high ground.

If the beneficiary of a will is a witness they lose their legacy. It doesn’t invalidate the will but it would invalidate that part of it. That’s why I asked earlier who the witnesses are - one of them seemingly the solicitor but who is the other? In my experience care home staff won’t usually act as witnesses.

If you are able please make an inventory of the contents of the house especially valuables. Why I say this is that I know of a case where I live where the coercer took things from the house and the beneficiaries found quite a few items from their childhood with valuable memories missing. Also, is it possible for you to get the locks changed?

Germanshepherdsmum

I really do think you should show this will to a solicitor. If you as a layperson think it’s badly written it very probably is. Who are the witnesses to Mum’s signature?

Yes, I was thinking who the witnesses were too. If they are in any way related to the new beneficiary I don't think the new will is legally binding.

I have spoken to a brilliant solicitor and he said I cannot do anything about the Will till she has gone unless she changes it. My husband is thinking of trying to talk to her to see why she has done this, she has always listened to him in the past and trusts him.
The solicitor said the best thing to do first is to speak to Social Services about what is going on & about the neighbour who is interfering in her life. They can assess if she is being coerced. He said this sounds like the category for Financial Abuse, and she needs protecting from this hence soc serv. Also if she wont agree to me having LPA I can go to court for a 'deputyship' and protect her that way. He was very helpful and I can go back to him anytime for free via RAC membership.
I have also found out from the Care home she is in at the moment the ruddy neighbour is visiting most days or ringing them about her. She sounds obsessed with my mum. The manager said she needs to find something to occupy her life and leave my mum alone. I would love to ring her and tell her to BACK OFF but that would be ammunition for her. She has the keys to my mums so she lets herself in all the time and because I liver 40 miles away I cannot know if she in mums home while she is in care. I daren't take the keys off her as mum trusts her. She could be up to all sorts. Mum is so frail on her feet and can't always get to the door so this suits her but this is being abused with the neighbour just walking in anytime.

I have had hardly any sleep since before Xmas it is driving us mad. Also solicitor said after I explained what my mum is like that she may not have full mental capacity. Hard to assess because she is lucid one day and angry and unreasonable the next like Jeykll and Hyde which could be showing her mental problems. She cannot work things out and gets so confused cannot sort her own problems wants everyone else to do it them blames them if it is not right. I will be honest my son has developed depression with the way she has treated him, that angers me. Every time he called or visited him she would go on and on blaming him for her problems. That is why he never rang or visited much last year and she is so bitter about that. I tried to explain but she wouldn't listen. Maybe someone has turned her head the solicitor said.

Sorry to go on and on but I am at my wits end with her. But at least I have made a start. If she wont listen to my husband then it is going to be put into Soc serv hands. thanks for all your support and help especially GSM

A similar experience with a friend. He thought he was executor to a Will of the aunt who they fed and cared for. The hairdresser ended up with all the cash and a house. 😳. Wasn’t found out until after death. Act NOW as they weren’t able to resolve it.

This is what I have been trying to tell you pita. You need to see a solicitor who specialises in the elderly. Your mother has been groomed by the neighbour. It is not uncommon. Vulnerable old people are easily conned.

I have no problem with a solicitor taking instructions over the phone then calling on Mum to witness her signature, at which time he could also form an opinion as to her mental capacity, but what he doesn’t know is the background you have described. Do you know who phoned him, and is he Mum’s usual solicitor?

Please, please make an appointment with a solicitor today. The sooner you are able to instruct one and tell them exactly what has happened, the better. Don’t wait and think you will contest the will when Mum has gone. That would involve horrendous expense. Act now whilst all the evidence is available and Mum can be sensitively and appropriately interviewed.

Her new Will was done by a solicitor and signed by them BUT I have heard that people can cleverly abuse old frail people making them their friends and put undue influence all seeming innocent but one of the category on an online specialist law site says "a Will has been created or amended at a time when a loved one was very ill or frail or particularly vulnerable" which she was her health has worsened dramatically since July suddenly the will is changed! Another quote " a Will has been created or amended in order to benefit someone that your loved one has become dependent on and who could fairly be said to have their ear!
A new Will has been created prepared which benefits someone unexpected such as a neighbour or acquired friend.

All of these come under undue influence. All done behind closed doors. This situation is becoming more common unfortunately. Even if the solicitor thought she was of sound mind he is no expert in old people's health condition nor does he know my mother and her situation.
By the way apparently this solicitor did the changes over the phone. Due to mum being housebound. Only comes to the home to get it signed. Not very professional in my book.

Sorry, in addition, please check with lawyers re will that there has been no coercion. Please consider that she was of sound mind when she made the will and was not coerced by another party. Is there any doctor's evidence of her mental competence to make a will? Do you have a local citizens advice bureau? Good luck!