Once upon a time, a very young little girl’s parents divorced and both her Mum and Dad remarried.
A year after her Mum remarried she died, which was not the plan at all.
Mum was only forty-four years young and the little girl was only nine.
Marriage cancels Wills
A legal fact, which can often have unintended consequences, is that marriage cancels Wills unless special wording is included in the Will.
For the little girl this meant that her Mum’s new husband was entitled to claim her Mum’s whole estate – and he took it.
The little girl’s Dad went to court on her behalf trying to secure a portion of her Mum’s estate for her, but that lengthy court case achieved nothing financially.
The little girl grew up and went about her life for a few decades, but as anyone who’s personally been involved in court matters will know, it has a lasting impact.
In 2017 she had a chance encounter which turned out to be life-changing.
She came face-to-face with the man who took everything.
It was a very unexpected meeting, and although she coped perfectly well with it in the moment, following that encounter she fell apart.
She cried more than she thought it was possible to cry, and her family had to put her back together again.
It really did have a profound impact on her.
The Moral of her story
The nine year-old little girl who got nothing is personally very well known to us at Amba Legal Services.
Her experience has helped us explain to our clients the real risks when parents remarry, known as sideways disinheritance.
People now contact us, knowing that we care for them and their family, in a way that people don’t believe all lawyers care.
Please take action
You may be reading this out of interest or because of a shared experience.
If it’s got you thinking about your own Will, please take action.
Whatever the statistics are about how many people get Wills in place your family cares about your Will, and presumably, you care about your family.
If you’re concerned about the challenging conversations that need to be had to progress your Will, all the more reason to choose specialist lawyers who have seen most situations before.
We have the skills to guide you and your loved ones through the decisions that need to be made.
So, don’t keep putting it off.
