Sister refuses to show me my mothers Will

[Mackies]

My mother passed away last year and made my sister her sole executor. We are the only survivors and have never been close, at the funeral my sister told me that mother left everything to her and refuses to show me the Will. My sister has cut me off completely and will not speak to me. I discovered after my mother died, through the Land Registry that mother signed her flat over to my sister in 2008. Although I understand my mother had quite a lot of money my sister has not filed for probate so I cannot request a copy of the Will, all efforts to get my sister to speak with me have failed so does anyone know if is there anything I can do that will enable me to see the Will.

[pochisoldi]

My mother passed away last year and made my sister her sole executor. We are the only survivors and have never been close, at the funeral my sister told me that mother left everything to her and refuses to show me the Will. My sister has cut me off completely and will not speak to me. I discovered after my mother died, through the Land Registry that mother signed her flat over to my sister in 2008. Although I understand my mother had quite a lot of money my sister has not filed for probate so I cannot request a copy of the Will, all efforts to get my sister to speak with me have failed so does anyone know if is there anything I can do that will enable me to see the Will.

Maybe consider applying for probate yourself (difficult without a will), or enter a caveat, or at least get some initial legal advice in that direction.

To be honest, I can't see why any honest executor with a legitimate will would refuse to show the will to someone who has a legitimate interest.
She might not have cause to file for probate, but is this because she doesn't need to, or is it because she can't?

[Dod101]

In the circumstances an obvious question is whether your mother actually made a Will because if she did not I assume you would benefit in an intestacy so I should think you have a legitimate interest in knowing, but that is only applying common sense. The other point is that if there is a Will and everything has been left to your sister why would she not show you the it? Since you mention probate I assume you live in England and English law applies. Were you living in Scotland you would have a legal right to a claim on your late mother's estate.

I wish you well because family disputes can be difficult.

Dod

[Lootman]

I can't see why any honest executor with a legitimate will would refuse to show the will to someone who has a legitimate interest.
She might not have cause to file for probate, but is this because she doesn't need to, or is it because she can't?

It was stated that "the Land Registry (says) that mother signed her flat over to my sister in 2008". If the mother's other assets were also signed over then there would be no need for probate since there would be little or nothing left in the mother's name anyway.

And if that were the case then the Will is irrelevant, since the assets in question do not form part of the Estate. Even if the Will shared the estate 50/50 that would not matter if the assets had all been gifted prior to death (absent fraud or coercion).

However, even if probate was not needed, there still may have been some reckoning for inheritance tax, and so there may be a record of that. Although if the assets were transferred in 2008 as with the property, then more than 7 years would have elapsed before death and so there would be no IHT due anyway, probably.

[richfool]

My mother passed away last year and made my sister her sole executor. We are the only survivors and have never been close, at the funeral my sister told me that mother left everything to her and refuses to show me the Will. My sister has cut me off completely and will not speak to me. I discovered after my mother died, through the Land Registry that mother signed her flat over to my sister in 2008. Although I understand my mother had quite a lot of money my sister has not filed for probate so I cannot request a copy of the Will, all efforts to get my sister to speak with me have failed so does anyone know if is there anything I can do that will enable me to see the Will.

If, as your sister said, your Mother left everything to her, that would tend to suggest that there was a Will. That would also be reinforced by the fact your sister said she was the Executor (Executrix), - as the Executors are identified/named in the Will. Though, if your Mother had passed everything to your sister back in 2008, then there would be no assets and presumably any Will would be irrelevant. (Your Mother could have simply transferred other assets, bank deposits etc, to your sister over the preceding years.)

As suggested, I would take legal advice. They might be able to advise you if there was a way to determine if there was a Will and if so, how to see it.

[Mackies]

My mother passed away last year and made my sister her sole executor. We are the only survivors and have never been close, at the funeral my sister told me that mother left everything to her and refuses to show me the Will. My sister has cut me off completely and will not speak to me. I discovered after my mother died, through the Land Registry that mother signed her flat over to my sister in 2008. Although I understand my mother had quite a lot of money my sister has not filed for probate so I cannot request a copy of the Will, all efforts to get my sister to speak with me have failed so does anyone know if is there anything I can do that will enable me to see the Will.

Maybe consider applying for probate yourself (difficult without a will), or enter a caveat, or at least get some initial legal advice in that direction.

To be honest, I can't see why any honest executor with a legitimate will would refuse to show the will to someone who has a legitimate interest.
She might not have cause to file for probate, but is this because she doesn't need to, or is it because she can't?

Thank you for your reply. My sister is older than me and when we were children she bullied me, I don't wish elaborate too much more because it is too painful but it is accurate to say our relationship has seldom been close, this is another form of her bullying me. When my father died she was also made the sole executor and was very deceitful and dishonest towards me because she wants everything my parents left and has no worries about leaving me with nothing.

[Mackies]

In the circumstances an obvious question is whether your mother actually made a Will because if she did not I assume you would benefit in an intestacy so I should think you have a legitimate interest in knowing, but that is only applying common sense. The other point is that if there is a Will and everything has been left to your sister why would she not show you the it? Since you mention probate I assume you live in England and English law applies. Were you living in Scotland you would have a legal right to a claim on your late mother's estate.

I wish you well because family disputes can be difficult.

Dod

Thanks for your reply Dod, your assumption is correct, I do live in England.

At the funeral I asked if my mother had made a Will and she said "yes but she left everything to me". Whilst this may be true, it would be nice to avoid any doubt and see it in writing.
My sister is a very greedy self centred individual and wants everything for herself, she believes by not communicating with me I will go away and she will do her utmost to deprive me of anything my mother wanted to leave me.

[Mackies]

My mother passed away last year and made my sister her sole executor. We are the only survivors and have never been close, at the funeral my sister told me that mother left everything to her and refuses to show me the Will. My sister has cut me off completely and will not speak to me. I discovered after my mother died, through the Land Registry that mother signed her flat over to my sister in 2008. Although I understand my mother had quite a lot of money my sister has not filed for probate so I cannot request a copy of the Will, all efforts to get my sister to speak with me have failed so does anyone know if is there anything I can do that will enable me to see the Will.

If, as your sister said, your Mother left everything to her, that would tend to suggest that there was a Will. That would also be reinforced by the fact your sister said she was the Executor (Executrix), - as the Executors are identified/named in the Will. Though, if your Mother had passed everything to your sister back in 2008, then there would be no assets and presumably any Will would be irrelevant. (Your Mother could have simply transferred other assets, bank deposits etc, to your sister over the preceding years.)

As suggested, I would take legal advice. They might be able to advise you if there was a way to determine if there was a Will and if so, how to see it.

Thanks for your reply, I understand you but even if my sister is telling the truth, for my own peace of mind I would like to see what she is saying in writing. My sister did say "there is a Will" her refusal to show it to me or even communicate is only making me feel suspicious that she has something to hide.

[Slarti]

Mackies, do you know which solicitor your mother would have used to make her will?

If so, approach them to see if they have a copy in storage.

Slarti

[JohnB]

I would seek legal advice, as you cannot trust anything your sister says to you informally.

A solicitor should be able to get the right form of words to force her to reveal the contents of the will is she is an executor, and start the intestacy process if there was not one.

[Mackies]

Mackies, do you know which solicitor your mother would have used to make her will?

If so, approach them to see if they have a copy in storage.

Slarti

Thanks for your reply Slarti. I'm afraid I do not know which solicitor my mother would have used or if she even used one to draw up the Will. Knowing how mean my sister is, it wouldn't surprise me if she bought a Will pack from WHSmiths and went to the nearest law firm and paying them a fee to witness the signatures.

[Mackies]

I would seek legal advice, as you cannot trust anything your sister says to you informally.

A solicitor should be able to get the right form of words to force her to reveal the contents of the will is she is an executor, and start the intestacy process if there was not one.

Thanks for your reply JohnB. That's good advice and is consistent with what others on here have said, I will start looking for a good solicitor.

[Clitheroekid]

You are in a difficult position, as the only people entitled as of right to see the Will at this stage are the executors.

You say your mother appointed your sister as sole executor. Do you know this for a fact, or are you simply relying on what your sister told you?

If it's the latter then you don't know really if you're an executor or not. In fact you don't even know whether there is a Will at all.

The first thing I'd recommend (and I recognise you may already have done so) is to make a search to see if probate has been granted to your mother's estate. You can do so here - https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills. If probate has been granted you can obtain a copy of it (which includes a copy of the Will) for £10.

If there's no record of probate I'd recommend that you write to your sister (keeping a copy) in the following terms:

Dear Sister

As you know, I have, on numerous occasions, asked you to let me see a copy of our mother's Will. You have consistently refused to provide a copy on the basis that you say she left everything to you.

If that's the case then so be it. However, I do need to see evidence of this for my own peace of mind.

I am therefore making this final request for you to let me have a copy of the Will by no later than [suggestion] 12 March.

If you still refuse to do so I will have to assume that you are deliberately concealing something - possibly that there is no Will at all. If that were the case then I would, as you will be aware, be entitled to half of our mother's estate.

I've taken legal advice, and I've been told that I have the right to make an application to the High Court under section 123 Senior Courts Act 1981 for an Order that if a Will exists you must lodge it with the Court.

This would involve my having to instruct solicitors, and I've also been advised that the Court would order you to pay the legal costs incurred - which would apparently be well over £1,000 - on the basis that the application was only needed because of your refusal to act reasonably.

Obviously, the last thing I want is to involve the Courts, and I really hope we can sort this out amicably, but if you continue to be obstructive you will leave me with no choice.

Regards etc

There's an element of bluff, in that you may not want to take things that far, and there's no absolute guarantee that she would be ordered to pay your costs. However, she won't know that, and quoting the legislation should help to convince her that you've taken legal advice. The threat of legal costs is often a powerful incentive to behave sensibly, so it's definitely worth a try.

[Mackies]

Dear Clitheroekid, thank you so much for your detailed reply.

I am indeed simply relying on what my sister told me, but as she is my only remaining family member there is no one I am aware of who could shed any further light on this and given the fact she absolutely refuses to communicate with me, until reading your response, I was unsure what to do aside from taking legal advice as suggested by other kind folks on here.

I check the probate search website frequently but up to now probate has not been granted and given my mother died 9 months ago I cannot see it happening. My sister is so devious that nothing would surprise me of what lengths she would go to in order to get hold of everything for herself, she tried identical tactics when my father died.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write the letter below, this is very helpful and has given me exactly what I need so I will use it and update this page if or when I get a response. Thanks again, you've been a big help.

You are in a difficult position, as the only people entitled as of right to see the Will at this stage are the executors.

You say your mother appointed your sister as sole executor. Do you know this for a fact, or are you simply relying on what your sister told you?

If it's the latter then you don't know really if you're an executor or not. In fact you don't even know whether there is a Will at all.

The first thing I'd recommend (and I recognise you may already have done so) is to make a search to see if probate has been granted to your mother's estate. You can do so here - https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills. If probate has been granted you can obtain a copy of it (which includes a copy of the Will) for £10.

If there's no record of probate I'd recommend that you write to your sister (keeping a copy) in the following terms:

Dear Sister

As you know, I have, on numerous occasions, asked you to let me see a copy of our mother's Will. You have consistently refused to provide a copy on the basis that you say she left everything to you.

If that's the case then so be it. However, I do need to see evidence of this for my own peace of mind.

I am therefore making this final request for you to let me have a copy of the Will by no later than [suggestion] 12 March.

If you still refuse to do so I will have to assume that you are deliberately concealing something - possibly that there is no Will at all. If that were the case then I would, as you will be aware, be entitled to half of our mother's estate.

I've taken legal advice, and I've been told that I have the right to make an application to the High Court under section 123 Senior Courts Act 1981 for an Order that if a Will exists you must lodge it with the Court.

This would involve my having to instruct solicitors, and I've also been advised that the Court would order you to pay the legal costs incurred - which would apparently be well over £1,000 - on the basis that the application was only needed because of your refusal to act reasonably.

Obviously, the last thing I want is to involve the Courts, and I really hope we can sort this out amicably, but if you continue to be obstructive you will leave me with no choice.

Regards etc

There's an element of bluff, in that you may not want to take things that far, and there's no absolute guarantee that she would be ordered to pay your costs. However, she won't know that, and quoting the legislation should help to convince her that you've taken legal advice. The threat of legal costs is often a powerful incentive to behave sensibly, so it's definitely worth a try.

[Mackies]

As previously mentioned, here is the update from my previous reply.
With huge thanks to Clitheroe Kid, after taking his advice and writing to my sister I today received a reply with a copy of my mother's Will.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this post, your help and suggesstions are most valuable and much appreciated.

[EssDeeAitch]

Good for you, I am glad that the issue is sorted out

[Calcarius]

You missed the punchline, was your sister being honest?