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Deed of variation

including wills and probate
Amybeth
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Deed of variation

#394073

Postby Amybeth » March 9th, 2021, 9:35 pm

I had a deed of variation drawn up with a solicitor as I am a beneficiary of an intestate estate. The administrator and I hate each other and she has communicated in emails and letters that if I didn’t sign my share over to her then she would take me to court. It’s a long story but it cost £600 for the deed to be drawn up- the administrator paid £250 towards it. Under advice from my solicitor I haven’t signed it all over to the administrator. She has said she will take me to court for the inheritance. Will I be able to get the £350 back from the administrator that I paid the solicitor for the deed of variation? I obviously have evidence of all of her letters, the bills and receipts from my solicitor. I just need that money back and it has been nearly a year since I paid the solicitor and no reimbursement from the administrator. Is that what is to be expected? Thank you everyone

Avantegarde
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Re: Deed of variation

#394096

Postby Avantegarde » March 9th, 2021, 10:16 pm

I don't wish to sound rude but this is very confusing. What is an administrator - do you mean an executor? And why should she be demanding anything from you at all? Are you in possession or control of some of the assets of the diseased person? Or what?

Correction and apologies: I now understand that an administrator is appointed when there is no Will and therefore no executor. But why is she demanding anything of you at all, let alone threatening to sue you?

staffordian
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Re: Deed of variation

#394098

Postby staffordian » March 9th, 2021, 10:25 pm

Avantegarde wrote:I don't wish to sound rude but this is very confusing. What is an administrator - do you mean an executor? And why should she be demanding anything from you at all? Are you in possession or control of some of the assets of the diseased person? Or what?

The deceased died intestate.

I believe in this situation the person dealing with the estate is termed an administrator rather than an executor.

But I think that more details are needed as to why the OP is a beneficiary but might be sued for this inheritance before any meaningful advice could be offered.

On the face of it, if the OP is entitled to the inheritance no court would award it to someone else because they hated them.

Amybeth
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Re: Deed of variation

#394101

Postby Amybeth » March 9th, 2021, 10:42 pm

Thank you for your replies. I was estranged from the person who died intestate and the administrator has letters that he wrote but never sent to me to prove the estrangement.
She wants to sue me as she has his will ( which isn’t witnessed) and I wasn’t mentioned in it- good, may I add! She has his letters proving we were estranged.
I am in receipt of means tested benefits and I didn’t realise that these would be affected if I signed the inheritance over to her. It’s all a horrible mess!
She thinks I’m estranged from the deceased for reasons he listed- when in actual fact - he had abused me from the age of nine and I escaped the hell hole when I got the chance.

Amybeth
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Re: Deed of variation

#394104

Postby Amybeth » March 9th, 2021, 10:47 pm

And to add, she has actually signed the deed of variation even though she has threatened repeatedly to take me to court with his invalid will and letters of estrangement.
I just want the £350 back as I never asked to be a beneficiary - and it’s not my fault he didn’t get his will witnessed. What is his fault is the estrangement due to his wicked disgusting behaviour towards a young girl.

staffordian
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Re: Deed of variation

#394111

Postby staffordian » March 9th, 2021, 11:13 pm

Sounds a mess.

I can't offer advice, hopefully others who can will be along soon, but I wanted to try to clarify what you actually want, so any expert can advise you properly.

So, am I right in thinking the following?

You are entitled to an inheritance.
You don't want it.
You've spent £350 trying to change the situation so you don't inherit, but don't actually want to be out of pocket through this.
So all you want is this money back?


Several things come to mind which I think need expert consideration.

First, would refusing the inheritance prejudice your benefits? (in that as you were legally entitled to this money you should not be receiving some or all of them, and whether you actually had the inheritance or not, the benefits would be calculated on what you were entitled to?)

Second, have you been well advised by your solicitor when the Deed of Variation was drawn up? It seems to me (IANAL) that if the other party is pressurising you to change, and it's to their advantage, you should not be paying at all for this change.

Third, it seems the administator is trying to bully (blackmail?) you into a course of action based on dubious grounds. She claims to have a will, but if it's not witnesssed, it's not a will. I'm not sure the correspondence you refer to would carry any weight.

I'll leave the unpicking of this to someone better able to advise.

Amybeth
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Re: Deed of variation

#394115

Postby Amybeth » March 9th, 2021, 11:23 pm

Thank you so much for replying. Yes you are right, I don’t want the inheritance but as I get some benefits, my solicitor has advised that by signing a deed of variation for a large sum of money - it could be deemed as ‘deprivation of assets’ if I needed to make future claims or change my current benefits!
I spent £350 drafting up the deed of variation as I was constantly told by the administrator that she would take me to court so I wanted to make it all stop. I wanted her to leave me alone.
So yes, I want the £350 reimbursed to me as she has benefitted from the deed and I can prove that she has blackmailed me in order to suit her. There are two other beneficiaries and I told the administrator that the solicitor initially had told me I could just sign the inheritance back in to the estate - when I told the administrator that- she emailed me to say, that isn’t acceptable as she didn’t want the other beneficiaries to benefit from me doing this!!! She’s literally unhinged.


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