Dad passed away - does will need to be read?

My dad recently passed away. Dad and Mum both have a pretty standard will where everything will pass from Dad to Mam or vice versa. So do we need to do anything - does the will need to be read? Or can we leave it as is, which is what my mum wants to do, and us too unless there is any legal necessity to do anything about it.

Thanks.

Sympathies on your loss.

A couple of points - there is no such thing really as a will "needing to be read". Thats just a thing from the movies.

I guess you are really asking does any action need to be taken on the will. That depends on what the assets are, how much they are. and how they are owned at the moment. So if your Dad had assets such as house/land, bank accounts, shares etc in his own name your Mum may not be able to get title without taking out probate. But as I say a lot depends on the assets......

However if your Mum's concern is whether she needs to do something urgently the answer is probably no. She can recover a bit and then take whatever action she wants as long as she has access to whatever financial resources she needs.

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your Father's death.

You may find something useful on Citizen's Information

Thanks for replies and advise.

Don't want to be divisive but have you personally seen the will?

When probate is extracted then the will becomes a public document.