Can you ignore a will instruction if all agree

chamer

My mother has passed away recently leaving her estate to her children. Her will and estate are very straight forward. We decided we would do probate ourselfs but on reading the will we discover a Direction to use a certain Solicitor to carry out probate.

This is not a family solicitor but just the office (if we were using solicitor services we could not shop around)my mother went to make her will.

My question is can this direction be ignored if the executor and beneficiaries agree.

Regards

GerardKeating

chamer wrote: »

My mother has passed away recently leaving her estate to her children. Her will and estate are very straight forward. We decided we would do probate ourselfs but on reading the will we discover a Direction to use a certain Solicitor to carry out probate.

This is not a family solicitor but just the office (if we were using solicitor services we could not shop around)my mother went to make her will.

My question is can this direction be ignored if the executor and beneficiaries agree.

Regards

On theory, the "certain Solicitor" could sue since, effectively your mother has "willed" them the income they would earn from the probate and this might have been her intent.

chamer

GerardKeating wrote: »

On theory, the "certain Solicitor" could sue since, effectively your mother has "willed" them the income they would earn from the probate and this might have been her intent.

Thanks for your reply

Definitely not her intent as she just walked in off the street to make this will but impossible to prove. The direction seem strange in these circumstances, would this line normally be placed in a will. I can't image my mother thought these people she had just met where so nice she would give them thousands of euro of her estate.
If it has to be followed the solicitor could charge what they want(i'm sure not my Mother's intention), as we would not be able to shop around.

Milk & Honey

Are you sure that she did not appoint the solicitor as executor? Is there a charging clause in the will? If she nominated a solicitor as executor was there an alternate executor?
A direction to the executor to use a particular solicitor to carry out legal work associated with the winding up of the estate is very different to appointing a particular solicitor as executor.

nuac

unusual for a testator to direct that a particular solicitor act in the estate, unless there were complications with whom that solicitor had been dealing.

Ask to see the solicitor's instructions ( written note of the testators wishes and the advice if any given )

IMHO such a direction not enforceable.

chamer

Thanks again for the comments

The first point nominates a sole executor who is family .

The second part bequeath her estate to her two children.

The third point is the one that we have problem with as it is not something she would do. I can only guess she was advised by the solicitors making the will to name them in her will.I can't see any reason why, she did not know them or have any other dealing with them. This seems like something that cannot stand up as it would bar us from using anybody else.

Here is the text "I direct that probate be extracted through the offices of XXXXXXXXXX Solicitors", the solicitors who withness, made and hold the orginal will.

Can we with the executor ignore this, this is of no benfit to us and only benfits the solicitors who made the will.


Best Regards

Chamer

Victor

Did you mother keep that Lotto win / foreign bank account from the family?