Mother left DIY will, what do we do next?

Hello All,

I have a problem that you might be able to help with. I read a lot of other posts here to search for an answer but my situation is a little different than others.

My mother died three years ago after a long illness. My sister looked after her in her home when mum could no longer maintain her independance.
We knew the cancer was terminal and my sister had to face the horrible task of asking mum about her final wishes etc. My mum was a private person who kept a lot inside and faced everything bravely so my sister had to find out if she had any last requests.

When she managed to find out where mum wanted to rest and that, she broached the subject of a will and asked would she like to speak to a solicitor, mum said she would.

Here the problems started, the solicitor my sister contacted kept saying she'd call out this day, the next day but never showed up.

My sister was under a lot of other stress now as mum was getting worse by the day, she asked me what to do when I managed to get home to visit.

I said we could always draw a temp. will just incase mum passed away, I shouldnt have I know, but i was more worried about keeping mum and my sister happy than anything else.

I typed it up. It just said,

"This is the last will and testament of..(mums name and address),

I leave all my worldly goods and possessions to my daughter (sis's name) and she will be responsible for my affairs as the executor of my will."

Mum signed it and with the witnesses signed it as well.

Mum died just a few days later, god rest her and it took ages for us to decide on her headstone and stuff so when we got them finished my sister still hadnt done anything with the will and the gravestone company told us that they would just send the bill to the bank in mums name, that this was normal.

My sister thinks that the will is not legal and that if we send it to a solicitor, she will be told that she will have to contact the whole family which contains three siblings who never spoke to mum for the past decade and whom shes feels and (I and the other two remaining decent childern feel) should not profit one red cent from a woman they hurt so much. They didnt even show up for her funeral.

My mum had no house and just a bank account and maybe a post office account we are talking about a couple of grand at most, after the grave bill.

What should we do?
I think the will is legal and all a soliciter will do is discover whats in mums accounts, close them and get it sent to my sister minus a small fee and that the other siblings including myself wont be informed in anyway because it has noting to do with us.

My sister wants to leave everthing alone in case they get anything.
I would like to finish up everything neatly as we have a history in ourfamily of not bringing closure to anything and it leaves things undone.

I know this is a huge opening post so thank you for taking the time to read it.

CorkHarbour said:

... and with the witnesses signed it as well. ...

Click to expand...

Who were the witnesses? (not names, just something like "me, my sister, my husband")

Myself and My wifes father it one of the reasons we are so unsure if the will is legal. Are we allowed sign wills?

Just want to say that a witness cannot be a beneficiary under a will, however an executor can.

Was there an executor appointed in the will?

pudds said:

Just want to say that a witness cannot be a beneficiary under a will, however an executor can.

Was there an executor appointed in the will?

Click to expand...

The OP says that the will states that the sole beneficiary is the executor.

According to www.citizensinformation.ie, the following are the requirements of a valid will. Your sister knows of the existence of a will and she is the executor, I dont think she can ignore it.

The requirements of a valid will

It is possible to draw up a will yourself or you can hire a solicitor to help you. For a will to be legally valid, the following rules apply:

• The will must be in writing
• You must be over 18 or have been or be married
• You must be of sound mind
• You must sign or mark the will or acknowledge the signature or mark in the presence of two witnesses.
• Your two witnesses must sign the will in your presence
• Your two witnesses cannot be people who will gain from your will and they must be present with you at the same time for their attestation to be valid. The witnesses' spouses also cannot gain from your will.
• Your witnesses must see you sign the will but they do not have to see what is written in it.
• The signature or mark must be at the end of the will.

These are legal requirements and if they any of them are not met, the will is not valid. If you want to change your will after you make it, you can add a codicil (amendment or change) to your will; this codicil must meet the same requirements set out above.

Thanks for your reply folks.

Husker, I had read the citizenzinfo and this is where I feel that the will is legal.

I think the will simply shows my mum's true wishes that my sister gets everything as mum would like and even if it was only a €100 she could use it to get something for her kids, I feel my mum would rather that that let any money however little be given to the goverment under any dormant account laws. (I dont really know if that law will apply in this case)

My sister is really scared that the three siblings whom we want noting to do with, will be able to find out things about the rest of us like her address and such.

I do not feel this is the case, as they wont even be contacted as they are not mentioned in the will.

What is the common course of event that happens when you present the soliciter with a will?

Do they go to a judge, get the will recorded legally and then proceed to close mums accounts and arrange transfer minus a fee?

They dont have to find all the family and inform them of the will and its contents, do they?

My mum had little physical goods, there is no family home, no jewels, no land, no prize bonds or investments, no heirlooms or anything else of monetary value.

She gave what simple little things she had to my sister long be before she passed away and she allways kept trying to give me stuff when I'd be home for visits just little things like pots and pans that she couldnt use anymore the poor thing.

My sister cleared the house where mum was staying prior to moving in with her, a couple of months after mum passed as tthe council where going to come in and dump everything, she managed to kept the sentimental momentos like the photo albums and christmas decorations, and gave anything else to the charity shop.

As far as I am aware, you do not have to get any solicitor involved anyway, just do the executors responsibilities and see to the estate. (I am open to correction on this).

Btw, If your mother was as limited in her means as you say, what motive is there for the others to investigate ? Plain badness ?

Hi Pique, thanks for that.

What would be the correct course of action without a solicitor?
Surely she'd couldnt just stroll up to the post office/bank and close out a now three year dormant account.

Could she as the executor appoint me to look after the legal work for her?
But she lives in a different county to me so it wouldnt be practical to use a cork solicitor for an issue in another county.

Their motive would be extreme badness and greed. They have fallen out of normal society and might use any opportunity to get a little cash or take some revenge againist the rest of the family.

I feel that she is working herself up way to much about any possible come back from them, as they have not shown their face in well over 5 years and the last of any phone contact with one of them was over three years ago. That wasnt a "hello, how are ya" phone call if you understand me.