Caveat

[rhyl47]

Hi is any1 able to help me regarding caveat info ? are you there Barmaid ?

[Zacs-Master]

I think we'll need a lot more detail before we can help you.

[rhyl47]

Thanks ZM I will type out what's happened this afternoon,its quite long so will take me a while to shorten it without leaving out important bits.

[rhyl47]

My mum and dad were leaving the house to me because of all the help id given them over the years,3 years ago mum told both my sisters what they intended, 1 said she was ok with it and the other said she was ok as long as she got a few thousand pounds.

2 years ago mums health took a bad turn and as she was dads carer she asked me to move in (i was single and no ties) to help look after dad and her,i work full time and working and looking after mum and dad was tiring but i was happy to help,I missed alot of time off work when mum was bad but i had works blessing.
I lost my mum last march she made no will,
Even before mums funeral i caught my two sisters bagering my dad saying did he think it was fair to leave the house to me and not split it 3 ways!Dad replied it had been his and mums intention for a long time.They left in a mood.
After mums death dad went downhill slowly,again i had lots of time off work looking after dad and again with works blessing,
my 2 sisters didnt come round much and if they did it was usually when i wasnt there,

On this day 1 did and as dad had suffered another fall i was off work,she asked if i was going to be off all week and i said yes,then she left,the next 4 days i saw her walk past the house and look into the porch,2 days later a letter arriived for dad (i opened all the mail for dad) and it was regarding my 2 sisters,they had applied for power of attourney!I explained to my dad what it was and he said he didnt remember signing anything like that and i explained what it all meant and if he was happy to go ahead then to do so,he said he didnt want to so it was cancelled,

Their actions forced me to apply for POA which i did,BUT before it was finalised my sister who lives local took my dad to her house to live! while i was at work !They said he wanted to live with them because i didnt look after him properly!!(this was last december) and had mail redirected and my dad ended up cancelling my application for POA,
It came down to the "office of the public guardian" writing a final letter to dad for him to pick who he wanted as POA and he chose my 2 sisters,
I tried to see my dad but my sister said he didnt want to see me,
WIthin a week a letter was pushed through dads door (where i was still living) giving me 20 days to vacate! this was written by 1 of my sisters i recognised the handwriting and signed by her in my dads name,i argued about this with her on the phone then another letter came printed out but signed my my dad.
i decided to leave as i couldnt be bothered with all the hassle and disrespect,

After mums death and my sisters bagering him about the house dad made a will leaving EVERYTHING to me! house/contents/monies/ (this was april last year 2014) In October after things had settled i said to dad i didnt think it was fair to leave me everything so he made another will leaving me the house and splitting and money (50k) 3 ways.(bear in mind the house was morgaged and 55k owed (house worth 100k)

I went to the house picking things up in feb 2015 and 1 of my sisters was there we had a big argument and she let slip dad had made another will leaving me totally out of it he had made this when he had moved to her house)

In March 2015 dad was put in a home where he passed away in may,they wouldnt even tell me which home he was in so i never got to see him before he died.
2 weeks after his death they put the house up for sale! thats when i entered a caveat

A FEW POINTS
1/ I have a letter typed and signed by mum and dad and witnessed a month before mum passed away saying i can live in their house untill they both pass away and that they intend to leave the house to me and also that any time i lose off work looking after either of them they will reimburse me for it.
2/ I have both wills in my posession that dad made.
3/ caveat issued 2 months ago and house has been taken off the market a month ago but as yet no "caveat warning" recieved

Do people think I have a good case? thanks for reading :)

[Peter Pedant]

yeah much better case after the Appeal Court decision of yesterday

that sort of in Sun language said your dad cant disinherit you without explaining why

go and see a good lawyer - i wouldnt do it yourself as it seems a bit arcane ( the law I mean )

[Barmaid]

I really think you need legal advice and pronto. This is a complicated area and you really need someone who knows what they are doing. Go and see a solicitor or go direct to Counsel who accepts Direct Access instructions.

I think you do have a case but the devil is in the detail.

[rhyl47]

Thanks Peter and Barmaid,
somthings happened today which is not good !
As I have been expecting a warning to my caveat I have been in touch with the probate office each few weeks as I had not received any warning (in case it got lost in the post and I missed my 8 day reply time) the last time I called was wed 22nd july (last week) I couldn't get through as often you cant,so I sent an e/mail to them,i got a reply on 23rd july from the probate office saying there had been no warning received as yet,
Today I called the probate office again and was told a warning had been sealed on 16th july! I told her I had an email off them on the 23rd saying no warning and she said it probably hadn't updated on their system!very blazey!and my caveat was removed yesterday!

Let me explain a little more

As I said in my long post above,i lived with my dad then was asked to vacate by sisters which I did to avoid any hassle, I didn't want my sisters to know my new address as to avoid future trouble.the address I gave when taking out the caveat was my dads address, I had my mail re directed to my new address,the caveat came to my new address, I presumed the warning would be redirected but my sisters have apparently delivered the "warning" by hand to my old address KNOWING I don't live there,and as its hand delivered it didn't get redirected,they also knew I had no access to my dads house as they had the locks changed,i was told to put all this into an e/mail and send it to leeds which I have done but had no reply yet,

seeing as my caveat has been removed I don't hold hope getting it reinstated.

so my new question is.. can I contest a will if im not named in that will ?

like some people contest because they arnt happy with their share but they are still in the will.. im not in this new will .. can I contest ?

thanks again for reading

[rhyl47]

Barmaid can you explain Direct Access instruction ? thanks

[tamborine]

1.A caveat is lodged by your solicitor and upheld for 3months, during which time both sides present their case to each other.
2. A mediation is called to resolve the caveat, if not satisfactory
3. Case taken to Court (about 2y later)
4. Probate according to judgement
5. Loser pays exes.

Very expensive & long drawn out.

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/stopping-a-grant-of-representation

[Barmaid]

Rhyl - traditionally you could only get a barrister's advice thru a solicitor. Now you can go to a barrister direct. I suggest you google "barristers' chambers" in your area and see if there are any who do Wills and probate on a direct public access basis. Alternatively, you can search the Bar Council's Public access directory here:- http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/about-the-bar/find-a-barrister/public-access-directory/. Or go to a solicitor who specialises and is either a member of STEP or a member of ACTAPs.

Please do get legal advice. Just because your caveat has been warned it does not mean all is over there are a number of other avenues.

Please also ignore Tamborine whose advice is flawed in a number of respects.

[rhyl47]

barmaid

Thanks for that but did you read where I said my caveat has now been removed ? I put the reasons above and I have e/mailed them to leeds where they do the caveats,
I spose what I wanted to know is whats the alternative now I cant make an "appearance" as I didn't respond in the 8 days.

do I have a length of time to challenge dads will ?

thanks again

[Barmaid]

You have 6 months from the grant of probate to make a claim under the Inheritance Act for reasonable financial provision.

You could still challenge the validity of the Will but from what you have said this seems less likely. There is no time limit on this, but clearly the sooner you do it, the better.

Clearly it is impossible in a few paragraphs for anyone to advise you.

GET LEGAL ADVICE. NOW.

[tamborine]

do tell barmaid, where I am wrong. Ive been thru this and its what I experienced.

[Retrochic]

In this situation its only the Legal profession that wins. £50K the OP is wanting to claim will get swallowed up pretty quickly in Fees, why bother?

[Barmaid]

A caveat is valid for 6 months. If it is warned and an appearance entered it is valid indefinitely until it is either a) removed by agreement b) removed by Order or c) a contentious probate claim is concluded.
Mediation cannot be ordered, but is advisable.
It will not normally take 2 years to conclude - it depends on the nature of the case and the available evidence. Every case is unique.
There may or may not be judgement - sometimes the other side caves in an Probate is granted in common form rather than solemn form - there are a number of variables.
Loser does often pay, but sometimes not.

[tamborine]

Double that Retrochic but I got it all back after winning my case

[tamborine]

by the time barristers & witnesses are organised it took my case 2y. Mediation had to be in place before my case was in Court.

[tamborine]

The beaks didnt make money out of me but their rewards were 6x my cost which the losers paid ;)

[rhyl47]

Thanks barmaid and tam

I just checked my e/mails and had this from leeds probate place

Hi



Sorry I meant ** ******* ***** and as that appeared on the caveat and warning they were allowed to hand deliver it to that address so that is correct service. However I do appreciate that you were not told that this was possible or that a warning had been sealed so I will investigate this and speak to Manchester



I will ask them not to issue the grant until I have done so. I will then advise you tomorrow.



I am about to leave but if you provide your telephone number I will ring you tomorrow afternoon





Regards

****** *****


maybe I have hope yet of getting to enter my !appearance "

[rhyl47]

Result! I got my caveat reinstated so I now can get my "appearance" in

Do I need a solicitor at this point now or should I let my sisters take the lead ??

[Peter Pedant]

christ are you joking - is the Pope a Roman Catholic ?

The lady she thay - get a lawyer - - - so get one !