Question about a will

RNMK

Hi, I'm hoping someone can answer my question about a will,

my father (who died 7 years ago) is in his brothers will along with some of his other brothers & sisters but now that he is gone would my mother be entitled to anything by law?

his brother, my uncle is still alive but hasn't long to live,

thanks,

sopretty

jaysis - would you not wait until the man had passed away at least?

wandatowell

sopretty wrote: »

jaysis - would you not wait until the man had passed away at least?

Very helpful.

sopretty

wandatowell wrote: »

Very helpful.

Does it sound like I was trying to be helpful? A nephew of a dying man, wondering what his mother might be entitled to in a will? Hopefully his mother and by default -the OP, is entitled to nothing. For goodness sake - have some respect.

RNMK

As you can see I'm new on here but I have to say that I'm disgusted with that reply,

I should not have to explain our situation to anyone but if I must,

my mother and I cared for my uncle 24/7 for the last 4 years, the man never married, has no family and has very little to his name,

he told my mother that he wanted to leave anything he had to her but he became ill very quickly and a new will is not an option, we are going by a will made over 10 years ago, my mother asked me the question and here I am,

wandatowell

sopretty wrote: »

Does it sound like I was trying to be helpful?

Not in the slightest.

GusherING

RNMK wrote: »

Hi, I'm hoping someone can answer my question about a will,

my father (who died 7 years ago) is in his brothers will along with some of his other brothers & sisters but now that he is gone would my mother be entitled to anything by law?

his brother, my uncle is still alive but hasn't long to live,

thanks,

It's hard to be absolutely specific without seeing the will but the short answer is probably no. A gift in a will to a predeceased person (i.e. your late father, who died seven years before the uncle in question) will normally lapse under succession law (s.91 of the Succession Act 1965) and so whatever was due to him will go instead to the residuary legatee (the person who gets whatever is leftover in the will after all the specific bequests have been paid out).

There are some exceptions to this rule (see s.98), but these only would apply if you or any of your siblings are minors (under 18 years of age). In that case, your father's entitlement might survive rather than lapse. I'm assuming you are an adult and have no siblings under 18, so this situation is unlikely to arise.

Should your uncle wants to leave something to your mother, he should amend his will accordingly of his own free chossing. However, as you say he is incapacitated, this might not be a possibility sadly.

RNMK

Thanks for your help, I'll pass on the info.