I am acting for an estate probate of the husbands estate has been obtained however a copy of the wife’s will has been discovered she died in 2017 her will gave her husband a life interest in her half of the house and on his death to charity. However the notice of severance (if done) was not registered with the land registry, the husband made will at the time leaving everything to the wife. The husbands will was stored at a solicitors firm (now closed as solicitor was struck off), the wife’s will is missing the struck off solicitor said Mrs must have retained the Will but also said ‘his secretary who dealt with storage was not very organised’ so he can’t be certain. I have asked for a copy of the Will file and was initially told he had one Will file per year for all wills! And has now told me the Will file for 2010 would have been destroyed in Jan when he closed. However he is able to recall some very detailed facts and names about this person specifically which has made me suspicious he is hiding something. The wife’s Will was preserving her share of the house for charity. Any ideas of the best course of action, the original Will for wife is not at her house. If we assume the Will is missing and destroyed the whole house passes to a family member who we are currently suing for misappropriating funds as attorney.
This sounds exciting!
It sounds as though the possibilities are: (1) Wife had the will and it has been lost or destroyed by someone other than her, it remains valid and can, in theory, be proved; (2) Wife had the will and destroyed it herself to revoke it, and, if she last had it, the presumption of revocation may apply; (3) Solicitor had the will but has destroyed it, it remains valid and can, in theory, be proved.
Missing wills are best proved by copies, but can be proved by oral evidence of their contents. The added difficulty here is that you don’t trust the solicitor. One potential option is an application under ss. 122 and 123 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 to order him to bring in the will and to attend for examination on oath as to its contents.
Josh Lewison
Radcliffe Chambers
Is the copy you have a copy of the signed will or just a copy of the unsigned final draft?
It a copy of the signed Will
Presumably a thorough search of the house has not unearthed a notice of severance or a copy of one?
The charity which would benefit under the wife’s will may be open to taking action to assert severance took place when the wife’s will was made or earlier, as was successfully argued in Dunbabin v Dunbabin in 2022
Sadly not the house search has only recovered a copy of the Will
Mrs Rachel Stafford
Solicitor
Rachel Stafford Legal Services
Wills, trusts and private client advice specialist
22 Whittle Road
Thame
OX9 3PF
Tel. 01844 218530
Mob. 0797 406 9637
You should carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. Rachel Stafford Legal Services accepts no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by software viruses or interception or interruption of this email.
The contents of this email and any attachments are intended for the confidential use of the named recipient(s) only. They may be legally privileged and should not be communicated to or relied upon by any person without our express written consent. If you are not the intended recipient please accept our apologies. Please inform that this message has gone astray before deleting it. Thank you for your co-operation.
Mrs. Rachel Stafford is a sole practitioner. Rachel Stafford Legal Services registered in England and Wales with the Law Society.
Rachel Stafford Legal Services is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under reference number 523018 and is subject to the Solicitors Code of Conduct 2011, which can be viewed at http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page
Please consider whether you really need to print this e-mail.
You have sufficient to attempt to prove the will with the copy and once probate is granted the charity will be able to discover their potential entitlement and act accordingly.