No Privacy Re Wills and The Cert

MeghanMcCarthy

It's only recently losing my incredible Mum that I realise how little privacy exists in this country.

Wills are a public document which I find very concerning for a variety of reasons. Mum was worth a considerable amount of money and I fear people going after her will as this would be widely known and there is people that will be nosey and want to know what she had and how she divided her assets . I've already had people telling me how well looked after I'll be and asking questions about her will which of course I tell them nothing about. Why should other people be entitled to know how much money my Mum or anyone else for that matter has after they pass away and what they are leaving to their beneficiaries? I have some especially nosey and rude family members that were asking how things were going to be divided up before we even had the funeral. How can people be so insensitive, cold and nosey it's nothing to do with them. I'm fuming thinking of people getting their hands on her will which I know she would have hated as she had said how intrusive this was before. I also know that in the countryside in particular where everyone knows everyone that people are bound to order it and be talking about it because I've heard such conversations before about others and their will being discussed after mass of all places smh. Some people really have nothing going on in their lives. I also have some disgusting family members that told me recently how lucky I am to have so much money now that Mum is gone. Ik the first thing they are going to do is look for her will once it's available I don't want that.

Another thing I've learned is that a death cert is a public document. This doesn't trouble me as much as I don't think people would really look for those, but I still take issue with it because I see no reason why anyone except immediate family should know what led to a persons passing if that is the wish of the family.

Peregrinus

I'm very sorry about the loss of your mother.

You talk about how little privacy exists "in this country", as though to suggest that things are different in other countries. But, by and large, they're not.

Think about this. Your mother isn't around to see that her affairs are dealt with as she would wish them to be. The state - the taxpayer - isn't going to pay for a team of clerks and accountants and lawyers to administer her estate, or to police and audit the administration of her estate by anyone else. Most likely, your mother will have appointed someone in her will as executor; someone she trusts. But what if that trust is misplaced? Or what if the person she nominated doesn't become executor for some reason (e.g. because they die first) and someone else steps into the role? What assurance can anyone have that your mother's affairs are being administered as she wished, and that those who are entitled to something from her estate actually get it? If the executor doesn't have to show the will to anyone, how do we know that he is doing what the will says he should do? If he doesn't have to disclose what's in the estate, how is anyone to know that they have received the correct legacy?

The probate process is public so that the executor can be accountable. Anyone who thinks they are or might have been mentioned in your mother's will, or have a claim on her estate, can find out the position because the will (and the grant of probate) are public documents. That puts them in a position to assert and, if necessary, enforce their rights. Since no limit is set by law on the people or classes of people your mother could benefit under her will, no limit is set on who can access the probate documents.

Registers of deaths (and births and marriage) are public for the same reason. It's much easier to register incorrect information if people who might know that the information is incorrect can't find out what information has been registered.