Sibling death wife refusing contact with me

[Bluefox511]

I have recently lost my younger brother to cancer NYE morning. We had had a very up and down relationship but always loved each other and came back together after any blips we had, I suppose fairly typical of many siblings. He lived 300 miles away and we had only been communicating for the last 5 months of his life, mainly through WhatsApp as talking was tiring for him. However, since his passing his wife has cut all ties to me, and when I tried contacting her by phone, I was blocked by BT - She has subsequently blocked me on WhatsApp, and worse still when I wrote a letter to her expressing my sadness for her, she tore the letter up into pieces, placed it in an envelope and returned it to me.

Do I have any rights as a sibling at all as I do have questions I would like to ask regarding his passing, what was on the death certificate and if she possess any of "our family albums" from my childhood with my brother which I would dearly like copies of at least as they would be very precious to me. If she refuses/blocks calls, blocks me on WhatsApp and returns letters to me torn up, what can I do? Thank you

[echat11]

HI Blue

Sorry for your loss.

Is there a family 'go between' you could turn to? Who could act as a 'bridge'.
What about a priest who could act as a 'conduit'? It needs that kind of intervention.
There are organisations similar to relate who can help in your circumstances.

[Bluefox511]

Hello ECHAT11,

Thank you for your reply and for your condolences. Sadly no family remaining, out of 29 all have passed I am the only one left, quite unnerving. I do not even live in the same part of the country as my late brother and his wife. But, I think you are right the situation as she is so hostile towards me to have some one bridge that gap - Relate, may be I will ask them for some advice, a priest, yes may be a good idea, however, I don't think he was terribly religious, I could be wrong but may be if I contacted some local churches it might be a start. Once again thank you for your help.

[echat11]

Hello ECHAT11,

Thank you for your reply and for your condolences. Sadly no family remaining, out of 29 all have passed I am the only one left, quite unnerving. I do not even live in the same part of the country as my late brother and his wife. But, I think you are right the situation as she is so hostile towards me to have some one bridge that gap - Relate, may be I will ask them for some advice, a priest, yes may be a good idea, however, I don't think he was terribly religious, I could be wrong but may be if I contacted some local churches it might be a start. Once again thank you for your help.

Good luck, remember small steps, but you will get there.

[Suzi9984]

Sorry to hear of the situation you are in and my condolences on the loss of your brother.
You mention wanting to se ea copy of his death certificate - do you know in which area or hospital he passed, if so you will be able to apply for a copy of his death certificate to be sent directly to you, it'll cost maybe £10-£15 (the price increases if you want it more urgently).
If you are happy to post here the area/hospital in which he passed then I'm happy to find the contact details for the Registry Office for you, alternatively just google in the local area and if you call and it's the incorrect one I'm sure they'll be happy to help.