# How do you find the solicitor who drafted a will



## Dub4Sam (20 Jun 2020)

My mother in law passed away 18 months ago and my brother in law came forward after 6 months claiming to be the executor.  No grant of probate has yet issued still and when we queried it he said my husband was left £1200 and that was it. We haven't received that money and aren't in a hurry to.  My MIL absolutely doted on and adored my children, her only grandchildren and was constantly mentioning little trinkets and things she wanted to leave in her will to them.  She had also said to me about a year before she died, that she had made financial provision for my daughter to do a particular educational experience she wanted to support us with.  This will the executor is talking about appears to have been made before the grandchildren were born and I find it impossible to believe that she didn't make a new will to leave anything to them.  Also about 6 months before she died she told my husband verbally that she had made a new will and was going to "take care of him".

My question is this... The executor has still not lodged any will with the probate office.  We are fairly sure a recent one exists but do not have access to her property to search for it.  It may have been less favourable to the executors interests (He lives in my MILs former home) than the will he is speaking of (if that even exists as he hasn't produced it to anyone, and I understand that if he is really the executor he has no legal obligation to do so).  Here finally is my question...  Assuming she engaged the services of a solicitor to draft the will (she was quite litigious and had the services of many during her lifetime) how do we figure out which solicitor might have a copy of the will in their office? Do we write to them all in the county?  Is there a publication where such an advert may be listed for a fee? Right now the executors inaction is in our favour, while we try to find the recent will.


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## Brendan Burgess (20 Jun 2020)

Ask the executor for a copy of the will. 

You will probably see from that which solicitor, if any, drafted the will. 

Then you can ask that solicitor if there was an updated one.

Brendan


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## Thirsty (20 Jun 2020)

And this is where our system fails.

We should have a central registration of wills, basic details (name, address, date of will, executor, witnesses) to be accessible by immediate family following testators death.  If there's no registered will, then intestate rules would apply.

To answer the OPs question, generally speaking the executor is expected to have processed the probate application within a year. You can start a legal action if you wish, though I would  caution against that given the amounts involved.  Have you asked for a copy of the will?

If you know the trinkets are of low value and still available, you could ask to have them as momentoes for your children.

When a relative passed away, I invited all family & friends to call and take any book, picture, cd etc that they might like to have to remember the deceased.


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## mathepac (20 Jun 2020)

A tough one unfortunately.

Neither the executor nor the solicitor(s) who acted for the deceased is obliged to communicate the content of any will or details of their dealings with a client to any 3rd party. All dealings must be through the executor.


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## Dub4Sam (21 Jun 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Ask the executor for a copy of the will.
> 
> You will probably see from that which solicitor, if any, drafted the will.
> 
> ...


We did ask to see it and he said "the solicitor" sent us a copy a week after the testators death by registered post and that I must have torn it up. The man is not well. He was my MILs carer and she his in a way. His relationship with us could be characterised as hostile especially since he has assumed this role of power. But he has produced nothing to anyone to back it up. My husband stumbled across cherished childhood toys in a second hand shop within weeks of her passing.


Brendan Burgess said:


> Ask the executor for a copy of the will.
> 
> You will probably see from that which solicitor, if any, drafted the will.
> 
> ...


We did ask and were  refused any details at all. Suffice it to say that the executor is hostile and quite enjoying his power.  We are considering launching a caveat against probate to give us some time to either find the will we suspect he has hidden or destroyed and/or challenge his capacity to carry out the duties of executor. It’s been 18 months and he has done nothing. He had her cremated without informing anyone and just announced it then. He dumped her ashes in a nearby river. She was adamant she wanted to be buried with her father.  The property he lives in In worth in the region of €300k. That is his likely motivation.


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## NoRegretsCoyote (21 Jun 2020)

The state should give people the option to officially register their will *before *their death for a reasonable fee. Either the full text or just its existence and location. The current system just leads to acrimony and more money for lawyers.

Apparently Ireland signed up to a treaty to do this as long ago as 1972!


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## elacsaplau (21 Jun 2020)

I sympathise with the OP - messy situation.

The lack of a central register seems like nonsense - cui bono?


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## Thirsty (21 Jun 2020)

Lodge the caveat.

Start proceedings to have him removed as executor; this will not be cheap.


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## jpd (21 Jun 2020)

Would you for


elacsaplau said:


> I sympathise with the OP - messy situation.
> 
> The lack of a central register seems like nonsense - cui bono?


Would it be obligatory to to register your will? That might put some people off!


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## Ravima (22 Jun 2020)

if it was 'accidentally torn up' then there should be no difficulty in solicitor sending you another copy.


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## PaddyBloggit (23 Jun 2020)

elacsaplau said:


> The lack of a central register seems like nonsense



Somebody heard you!

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/irelands-first-online-will-register-launched-1007017.html

https://www.thewillregister.ie/


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## elacsaplau (23 Jun 2020)

PaddyBloggit said:


> Somebody heard you!



That's mad, Ted


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## Thirsty (23 Jun 2020)

It's not mandatory however and it needs to be - see my previous post.

Though I wonder that 'they heard' @elacsaplau  on Sunday, but not me on Saturday


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## Dub4Sam (30 Jun 2020)

Ravima said:


> if it was 'accidentally torn up' then there should be no difficulty in solicitor sending you another copy.


We have sent a solicitors letter to "the solicitor" asking if he is acting on behalf of the estate or the executor and whether he is the one handling these affairs and received no reply. He didn't send us anything and we tore nothing up. I suspect the only one who may have torn up her recent will is the one who is supposedly executing this 1990s will which nobody has seen.


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## mathepac (30 Jun 2020)

I'm amazed you persuaded a solicitor to write to another posing those questions. There was only one likely outcome to such a communication IMO and you've seen it.


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## Jim2007 (1 Jul 2020)

mathepac said:


> I'm amazed you persuaded a solicitor to write to another posing those questions. There was only one likely outcome to such a communication IMO and you've seen it.



You don’t persuade solicitors you instruct them.  I had a similar situation a while back, but it was resolved when I instructed my solicitor to give my brothers solicitor 24 hours to deliver up the will or I‘d start proceedings for a grant of letters of administration.


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## Dub4Sam (1 Jul 2020)

mathepac said:


> I'm amazed you persuaded a solicitor to write to another posing those questions. There was only one likely outcome to such a communication IMO and you've seen it.


What is so unusual in asking a solicitor if he is handling a particular matter on behalf of an estate?  If he is, then he is also acting on behalf of any beneficiary, which is us.


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## mathepac (1 Jul 2020)

If instructed by the executor, a solicitor acts exclusively on behalf of the executor *not* the beneficiaries. Responding to threats of litigation against a client is very different to answering random questions about who s/he might or might  not represent or work s/he might / might not have undertaken in the past.


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## Gordanus (2 Jul 2020)

I'm a bit shocked at this. The solicitor who drew up my will has gone out of business since, and I *assumed* that the will was registered somewhere. I have a copy - but I assumed this wasn't the only copy!


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## huskerdu (2 Jul 2020)

Gordanus said:


> I'm a bit shocked at this. The solicitor who drew up my will has gone out of business since, and I *assumed* that the will was registered somewhere. I have a copy - but I assumed this wasn't the only copy!



Find out who they sold the practice to , they will have your will


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## Gordanus (2 Jul 2020)

The practice vanished! I passed down the road and it was GONE!


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## DeeKie (3 Jul 2020)

The Law Society probably know who took the business


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## Thirsty (3 Jul 2020)

Yep - Law Society is your best call.


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## Gordanus (5 Jan 2021)

huskerdu said:


> Find out who they sold the practice to , they will have your will


How? The actual practice has vanished. It's gone a good few years now; mind you, it's now irrelevant as I got married in the meantime... and we haven't made a will together yet, so if I pop my clogs I assume my spouse gets everything and vice versa.

I can't believe there still is no mandatory central registry. Unbelievable.


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## Thirsty (5 Jan 2021)

Gordanus said:


> ...we haven't made a will together yet, so if I pop my clogs I assume my spouse gets everything and vice versa.



You know what they say about assumptions...






						What happens to a deceased person's money and possessions?
					

How to get access to the deceased person's money and property, the rights of family members under wills and how property is distributed.




					www.citizensinformation.ie
				




Make a will, it's cheap as chips & saves a lot of hassle in the end.


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## Gordanus (5 Jan 2021)

Thirsty said:


> You know what they say about assumptions...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, we're both aware of this, but situation complicated... we were hoping we'd have settled down by now, but as it's not likely to happen for a good while yet, due to pandemic and employment etc, I suppose we should sit down and have a chat.  Thanks!


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## NoRegretsCoyote (5 Jan 2021)

Gordanus said:


> Yes, we're both aware of this, but situation complicated...



It's very simple and quick once you'd decided how the solicitor should draft it.

Ours took about a week from first email to solicitor to signature.

We made two wills in the space of two years and are thinking of making another.

It's about as much time and hassle as changing utility provider.


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## huskerdu (5 Jan 2021)

Gordanus said:


> The practice vanished! I passed down the road and it was GONE!


The physical office may have vanished but the Law society will know if the practice still exists or who the files were transferred to


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## abc_xyz (21 Jan 2021)

Gordanus said:


> How? The actual practice has vanished. It's gone a good few years now; mind you, it's now irrelevant as I got married in the meantime... and we haven't made a will together yet, so if I pop my clogs I assume my spouse gets everything and vice versa.
> 
> I can't believe there still is no mandatory central registry. Unbelievable.



Question on this - in this case Gordanus made a will and then got married. If Gordanus does die before making a new will I assume the contents of the old will apply regardless of the fact he's got married since? So potentially the spouse would get nothing. (This of course assumes someone goes to the effort of finding the will.)


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## NoRegretsCoyote (21 Jan 2021)

abc_xyz said:


> So potentially the spouse would get nothing.



No. You cannot disinherit your spouse.

So marrying can invalidate some or all of an existing will.

It's wise to make a new one after marriage.


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## Gordanus (12 Feb 2021)

abc_xyz said:


> Question on this - in this case Gordanus made a will and then got married. If Gordanus does die before making a new will I assume the contents of the old will apply regardless of the fact he's got married since? So potentially the spouse would get nothing. (This of course assumes someone goes to the effort of finding the will.)


No, marriage made the previous will null and void, as far as I know.


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## Johnno75 (13 Feb 2021)

Gordanus said:


> No, marriage made the previous will null and void, as far as I know.


The will stands, if made in contemplation of the marriage. The Surviving Spouse has statutory entitlements, including their Legal Right Share (this share depends on whether or not there are children) and/or the right to take the Family Home. The election by the surviving spouse to take their entitlements may have a significant impact on the Will as far as the entitlements of other named beneficiaries and legatees are concerned. For example, the Testator cannot disinherit a spouse of their entitlement to the Family Home by leaving it to, say, the local Dog Charity. In that instance, the Spouse can elect to take the Family Home. This would have the effect of causing the gift of the Family Home to the Dog Charity 
to fail.


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## Pmc365 (13 Feb 2021)

Getting married or entering in to a Civil Partnership revokes previous Wills.


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