Spotting suspicious behaviour surrounding a will
We’ve been handling will disputes for many years, and have found that there are a number of common themes which raise suspicions that all is not as it should be with the will concerned.
Challenging a will is a big decision to take, especially in the sad circumstances where a loved one has died. You may also be unsure if you are right to be taking this step – you may ‘feel’ that things are not right in relation to the will of your loved one, but be struggling to pinpoint why this is the case. Suspicious behaviour before, as well as after, the death can often be identified and should be a cause for concern, even though no action can be taken to dispute a will until after the Testator has died.
We’ve brought together a list of the matters that our clients commonly raise when they speak to us, which usually indicate that the circumstances surrounding the making of the will are suspicious and warrant further investigation relating to the validity of the will.
Before death
Unlikely friendships Of course, everyone is free to build relationships with anyone they choose, but in some cases, a relationship develops which is out of character for your loved one. It is not uncommon in this context for your loved one to start to display behaviour towards you which is less affectionate, or even overtly suspicious or hostile.
A drop in communication If your loved one has become confused as the result of illness such as dementia, or simply been manipulated by someone else into making a will which excludes close family, the person responsible (perhaps a new carer or partner) may make deliberate attempts to take over all communications on behalf of your loved one, and limit your access to him or her. You may not be aware that this is what is going on in the background, but if you notice a change in how your loved one communicates with you – or in how often you are invited or allowed to visit, there may well be something untoward going on.
Reliance on a particular person If your loved one is already vulnerable, perhaps suffering from memory problems or other mental health problems, or a long term physical condition, they are more open to being manipulated. We have come across situations where people have taken advantage of this by allowing the loved one things that they have been advised not to have – or do (such as drinking alcohol or driving). Equally, where someone is vulnerable in these circumstances, an unscrupulous individual will exploit this by planting unfounded suspicions about family members who would otherwise be included in the will into the mind of the will writer. Again, it is hard to know that this is happening, but if your loved one is increasingly favouring one person over everyone else, and their behaviour towards others changes and becomes more hostile, this may well be what is going on.
Change in professional advisors If your loved one suddenly changes solicitor or GP in the run up to writing a new will, this can indicate that something untoward is going on. If someone is seeking to manipulate your loved one into writing a will in particular way, they will want to avoid the involvement of professionals that may challenge what is going on.
After Death
Lack of communication Sadly, if there has been manipulation, undue influence, involved in your loved one’s will, you may well not find out straight away that they have died. When someone has become close to a testator with a view to influencing their will, they will want to prevent the family (or the rest of the family, if a family member is involved) knowing that the individual has died.
Hi-jacked funeral Just as distressing as being late to find out that your loved one has died, we have noticed that when a testator has made a will in suspicious circumstances, the person or people responsible for manipulating the testator may also try to take over the funeral, dismissing the views and feelings of the family, and focussing on the importance of ‘friends’.
Concealing the will If a new will has been made that disinherits family in suspicious circumstances, those responsible (whether an individual or small group of people) may often conceal the existence of the will, and accuse genuine enquirers of only being interested in the money. Alternatively, they may deny all knowledge of the will, even when it becomes clear that they have played a role in the creation of the new will. You may also find that a solicitor refuses to disclose a will on the grounds that it is “confidential to the deceased” – spurious because once probate is granted, a will becomes a public document! More likely is that this is a ruse to prevent close relatives from realising what has happened, and entering a caveat to prevent the grant of probate.
Swift action to apply for probate While it is normal to apply for probate relatively quickly after someone has died, in some cases, we find that the application for the grant of probate has been pre-prepared in advance of the death, which means that probate can be applied for immediately in an attempt to prevent the will being challenged.
You may feel uncomfortable raising concerns about the circumstances in which a will has been made – for fear of being accused of ‘only being interested in the money’. However, it’s also the case that if your loved one has been manipulated by someone into making a will that doesn’t reflect their true wishes, that person will say this sort of thing to try and stop you making further investigations.
If you have concerns about a will that you would like to discuss, why not talk to us? We offer a free claim assessment , and can handle most cases on a no win no fee basis, if you decide to take things further.