Mail Online

Will is taking years

Ms M.R. writes: My uncle left approximately £1.2million in his will, and I am one of the beneficiaries. He died in February 2020 and W. Davies Solicitors, of Woking, took on the administration of the estate in April that year. Later, they asked for some information which I supplied, and they said it should be cleared up by December 2020, but they still say the estate is ‘work in progress’.

I OBTAINED a copy of your uncle’s will from the Probate Registry, and actually ended up sympathising with the solicitors as much as with you. The will made a few specific bequests, after which everything else – the residue – was left to his wife, your aunt. However, she died a year before your uncle, with his will saying that in this case, the residue should be shared between your aunt’s brothers and sisters, and if they were dead then their shares should go to their children. Your aunt had ten brothers and sisters, but your uncle’s will did not give the details of any of them, which landed the solicitors with the task of obtaining lots of birth, marriage and death certificates, and tracing everyone involved.

By the end of 2021, the solicitors had identified 28 beneficiaries, with more to be confirmed. Since I first contacted them several months ago, they have agreed to pay out half of all the predicted amounts, and you have received over £22,000. Frustrating, yes, but executors would be reckless to empty the estate, only to face a claim from a previously unknown beneficiary.

Wealth & Personal Finance

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2023-03-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/282922389663927

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