Forged Wills for people who die intestate is emerging as a trend, recently highlighted in a BBC podcast.
A real example of a fraudulent Will
When a law firm’s client died without a Will, they discovered a fraudulent Will submitted to the Probate Registry. The usual checks hadn’t revealed the crime, so it issued Grant of Probate. This allowed the criminals to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from their client’s estate.
In this case the law firm knew their client didn’t have a Will. Acting on their behalf, they paid the IHT and applied for Letters of Administration. This was when they discovered that a false Will had claimed the estate was under the inheritance tax threshold. The Grant of Probate subsequently issued allowed criminals to steal money from bank accounts and attempt to sell property.
The law firm obtained an injunction to freeze the estate’s remaining assets. After arranging cancellation of the fraudulent Grant of Probate it obtained Letters of Administration. Several court proceedings eventually froze the criminals’ bank accounts, allowing recovery of over 60% of the stolen money.
Although the law firm informed the police and Action Fraud, the criminals haven’t faced any charges so far.
How to prevent forged Wills and fraud
Sadly, this case isn’t a rare event. Criminals target unclaimed estates using the publicly available Bona Vacantia list. They then use a forged Will to access the estate and set its value below the Inheritance Tax threshold. This allows them to access assets before they’re challenged.
To prevent similar thefts the government must take urgent action. There’s pressure for it to:
launch an investigation into false probate applications
change the law to require stricter checks on Wills and witness information
improve detection of suspicious financial activity by service providers.
For the time-being the government isn’t allowing the public to view the Bona Vacantia list. So far there aren’t any plans to re-publish it.
New rules could help protect the rights of heirs and IHT income for HMRC. Unfortunately, they could also make it more difficult for your family to administer your estate when you die. Completing the paperwork, dealing with the authorities, selling property and belongings, and dispersing the estate can already become challenging.
The best way to avoid the risk of fraud is to make sure you have an up-to-date and properly prepared and witnessed Will. To help executors manage administration of your estate, I also offer a Probate Assist service
Please get in touch to discuss creating or updating your Will and to find out more about Probate Assist.
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