Deceased Estate

[Bazile]

Further to my other thread below

Having had another read of my Father's will , it says that if his wife was still alive at the expiration of 28 days , after his death ; then she is appointed as sole executor of his will and she receives all his estate , property and effects .

( If she was not alive after the expiry of 28 days after his death other provisions would
apply )

She was alive at the expiry of 28 days ( he died in 2006 and she died in 2015 )

Now , the issue is that i do not think and it would appear that she did not actually do anything with regard to dealing with the will .

My question is how do i check to see if i am correct in my suspicions and if i am correct , can i apply to deal with his estate and what would be the process to so do ?

Thanks for any advice

[Buenchico]

If your mother sought, and got, probate then the 'grant of representation' will be a public document, which anyone can get hold of for a tenner:
https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

However if you've found your father's original will, rather than a copy of it, it seems unlikely that your mother ever sought the grant (as the original will would then have been retained by the Probate Registry).

While the people at your local Probate Registry office aren't permitted to give detailed legal advice, they can provide general guidance on situations like yours and they're normally very happy to do so. So they should be the first people to ask.

[Bazile]

Thanks chris
Would you mind having a look at my other thread and my last question , in case Barmaid don't return to it ?

[Peter Pedant]

I had better be quick
I am up to around 15 restarts to get here

I was gonna say - Barmaid here ? what a round ?
but I dont think I have time to be smart

first - sorrry for your loss

second - if you havent read the will proper
then you know you shouldnt be doing this
you need professional help

I think Barmaid would agree with that

third - your suspicions need updating - it isnt your dadz estate - it is hers. There is no doubt she inherited but didnt do the paperwork.
( I think that is the effect of the Queensland commissioner case tas law case) - rather than as you suspect the estate has flapped in the breeze for thirty years.

so THAT needs to be done - and then you need to deal with your mothers ( now quite large estate)

and didnt she die intestate? - so you and your sibs get it in equal parts....

anyway - that is what I think -
happened with my father where the title to the house hadnt been changed since he bought it in 1962 - and was surprisingly easy to sort out in 1998 ( no IHT between spouses for example - so it was just a matter of filling out and filing the right forms)

and good luck