Right to view a will

[sam h]

Until the Will goes through Probate there are a lot of reasons why it may never get that far!

Will is improperly executed. Will was made under duress. Testator did not have capacity.

Which is why you are correct when you say: "Probated Wills are public records accessable to all"

"To be honest, if the contents of Wills were publically 'read' in advance of probate then it would eliminate a lot of bad feeling, confusion and possibly even underhand behaviour in a lot of cases. "

As it happens, I agree. But, in my experience, there is nothing like the sniff of money to turn people into nasty, grubby, underhand etc.,etc. In most situations, there will be harmony and agreement about what should and will happen. In the cases I've seen, where there is disharmony, you can trace it back to the dynamics of family living and the desire of (e.g.) the Testator to cause as much grief in death as he did in life!

mf

Would it not eliminate some of the mystery if the will was posted (subject to the will being verified & full probate).

If people are excluded from seeing the will in full, they may not be aware that the will was / wasn't ligit.

I have seen some nightmare stories posted here where beneficiaries get no feedback from the exectutor.

TBH, it wasn't an issue in our case as we made sure everything was as transparent & democratic as possible (maybe too much so in hindsight).

But some family dymanics mean that the executor may take steps that are beynd their limitations and by the time the will is made public, it maybe too late to rectify (and too painful to challenge)

 

[mf1]

"If people are excluded from seeing the will in full, they may not be aware that the will was / wasn't ligit."

You can turn that on its head as well - if they don't get the opportunity to cause trouble, they can't!

"But some family dymanics mean that the executor may take steps that are beynd their limitations and by the time the will is made public, it maybe too late to rectify (and too painful to challenge) "

I agree - but then you have to ask why the Testator ever appointed them? And if it was under duress or undue influence? And whether it is ever worthwhile challenging people who are capable of being underhand and devious to benefit themselves over others?

Big issues.

mf

 

[csirl]

I agree - but then you have to ask why the Testator ever appointed them? And if it was under duress or undue influence? And whether it is ever worthwhile challenging people who are capable of being underhand and devious to benefit themselves over others?

Big issues.

mf

People who are being underhand and devious to benefit themselves over others should always be challenged. There is a huge public interest in ensuring that wills are executed correctly. This should take precedence.

 

[mf1]

Who is going to challenge them? And who is going to pay the costs? And whose view of who is being underhand/devious will be accepted by a Court? It is not always as clearcut as some posters/clients would have anyone believe.

Coming back to an earlier point - wills should be made public before Probate..........

Very often, a query raised is from a disappointed person who believes they should have
been a beneficiary and tries to suggest that there is /was something underhand when, in reality, they were excluded for good reason.

Over age children have no automatic entitlement to any share of their parents' assets. And nor do they have any entitlement to see a parent's will before it is Probated.

mf

 

[Padraigb]

People who are being underhand and devious to benefit themselves over others should always be challenged. There is a huge public interest in ensuring that wills are executed correctly. This should take precedence.

I tend to agree. I think it a deficiency that The Succession Act does not require an executor to make some form of report on the discharge of his or her obligations. A sensible executor should draw up such an account and give it to the key beneficiaries (by limiting to "key beneficiaries" I mean that is should be okay not to report to people who received small or token legacies).