The Probate Registry have asked for notice to be given to the persons prejudiced by an application to prove a copy Will, under rule 54. I assume that this means those that would otherwise be entitled under the intestacy rules which in this case is the testator’s wife. The deceased’s will leaves his estate to his sister in law and her husband (Mr & Mrs A). The deceased’s wife survived him and lives in Pakistan whereas the deceased lived in the UK. The main asset is a UK property which was originally held in the sole name of Mr A. At some point Mr A transferred the property to the deceased’s sole name . This was done on the understanding that when the deceased died, he would leave the house to Mr & Mrs A.
Is there a specific form that the notice needs to take as I can find nothing by way of precedent and neither have I been able to find anything in Tristram & Cootes.
I had a similar situation last year. The deceased’s copy Will left his long-term partner (unmarried) the bulk of the estate and a small gift to his sibling and two friends. Under the intestacy rules, the sibling would have been entitled to the full estate. We didn’t provide any sort of formal notice but simply wrote to the sibling explaining the situation and requested they sign a statement confirming they were aware they may be prejudiced by the proving of the Will but nevertheless approved the content of the copy Will. We recommended they took independent legal advice before signing of course. They returned the signed statement. We sent it to the probate registry and probate was granted shortly after. I don’t know if the sibling did take legal advice or not but appeared happy to honor the deceased’s wishes.
Hi Anthony
Thank you for your reply which was indeed very helpful and please accept my apologies for the delayed reply. In the end, it was not necessary for me to give notice to those prejudiced to the issuing of the grant which was a relief as the deceased’s spouse lived in India and I am instructed unable to read or write. I believe the reason for this was that I queried the need to clear off those who would be prejudiced on the basis that a glitch in the on-line system caused the problem and I pointed out that this was not a case where the original Will had got lost in our office but that it had been sent to the Probate Registry and either got lost in the Royal Mail system or was roaming around at their office unallocated. I will however file your very helpful reply should this situation arise in the futuere. Thanks again.