Proposed change to inheritance law

[putsch]

This proposal by the Law Reform Commission to delete the parents "moral duty" to make provision for adult children in their will appears on the face of it to be reasonable but the exceptions are a minefield especially the last two.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-new...cut-children-out-of-their-wills-35769161.html
The exceptions are:
where the adult child has a particular financial need arising from their health or decision making capacity,
where the estate contains an item of particular sentimental value to the adult child,
or where the adult child has provided care and support for the deceased.

In almost every family of more than 2 or 3 children there will be someone who feels hard done by on the second or third point. I predict good days ahead for lawyers!

 

[noproblem]

The wording of a will and the awareness of the deceased to all the perceived potholes might have a bearing on what happens. It's never straightforward, but a last will and testament properly written can be exactly what it says on the can. Either way a solicitor wins. I've asked before on here, but is there any safeguard that a persons last will and testament will not be conveniently lost by a solicitor so as to be beneficial to a particular person?

 

[mf1]

Good grief - there's a fierce load of solicitor bashing going on her today!

See this:

https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/deed-of-separation-when-terms-are-agreed.203801/


"Either way a solicitor wins. I've asked before on here, but is there any safeguard that a persons last will and testament will not be conveniently lost by a solicitor so as to be beneficial to a particular person?"

That is an outrageous thought. Now, have a little think about it.

1. It would be a crime.
2. The solicitor would be found out.
3. They will be struck off.
4.It would be a really, really, really bad thing for a solicitor to do.
5. They'd want to be mad in the head to do that.
6. Even if the solicitor didn't think it was an awful thing to do, the chances of being found out are so enormous, that even a half wit would regard it as a rubbish idea.

Who'd ever know? Whoever goes through their papers and finds the copy of the last will and testament. And, with any luck, the executor, that the testator told what they were doing.

Memo to testators: don't keep that will a secret!


mf

 

[Jim2007]

I've asked before on here, but is there any safeguard that a persons last will and testament will not be conveniently lost by a solicitor so as to be beneficial to a particular person?

Projecting your own standards of behaviour on to other perhaps!!!!!

 

[noproblem]

Projecting your own standards of behaviour on to other perhaps!!!!![/QUOTE

Are you saying it couldn't happen, or has never happened?

 

[huskerdu]

mf1 is correct.
The only circumstances where this could happen is something like this......

Jim leaves everything to one of his children, Jack. His other child Sam is willed nothing.

The only people who know of the existence of the will and have seen a copy of the will are the solicitor and Sam.
Sam convinces the solicitor to destroy the will and lie and say that it never existed.

Jim is deemed to have died intestate and Sam gets half. Jack is too dim to suspect anything.

If Jack suspects this and goes looking, the solicitor better not have any evidence that Jim paid him for the will.
The witnesses to the will also have to lie and say that they did not witness the will. How do Sam the solicitor make sure that there isnt a copy of the will somewhere for safe keeping.


Its all very unlikely that a solicitor would risk this. The lifetime earnings of a solicitor are at stake. Even a decent payoff from the money inherited would not vern come close to compensating the solicitor for risking their livelihood.

 

[noproblem]

Don't get me wrong, i'm not pointing the finger on anyone. I'm just making the point that this type of thing can happen and wonder if there's any law in place, or planned, where a will, when made, is registered and can be found when people die and there happens to be difficulties in locating it. Years ago and in some instances even today, a certain group of people might make a will and no way will anyone, apart from the person making the will and the solicitor know anything about it, these people could be related and therefore the possibility of interference is there without consequences. It would be good for all involved if there was a register in place which shows the date and place of wills.

I appreciate your post Huskerdu and you pointing out that witnesses would need to be involved in a conspiracy, etc. How many witnesses to wills actually read the will? In a lot of cases the solicitor just calls in a secretary or someone from the office and they sign it, never read it.

 

[Seagull]

I know in the case of our wills, there is no way that the witness could have read the contents of the will, and probably had no idea who the wills were for. All they are witnessing is the signing of the will by the testator, not the contents. It's basically that you are signing the will freely and not under duress.

 

[JamieHinch]

Know of one person (batchelor) who changed his will a year before he died.
His first will was leaving all his property to his neighbours, which he was pushed into.

He then changed his mind and left to family members but the neighbours has access to his house during his illness and found a copy of the 2nd will and put unbelievable pressure on him to revert back to the original will but he resisted even though he was very ill at the time.