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Estate Entitlement
We have recently been informed of our relatives death from Covid 19 in April of this year. A funeral was arranged by the hospital as no next of kin could be located at that time.
The deceased had not been in contact for some years, not through any ill feeling, but more likely because my Mum, her first cousin and only relative is 96 and in a home with dementia. I have a Court of Protection Order to act on her behalf. We do now have a copy of the death certificate. We do not have details of any bank or solicitors for the deceased and there is no Will on the Wills Register.
Our relative lived alone and her house is now empty but we have no access to the property, which is in another part of the country. This may well be where the Will is located, so even though over the years the deceased told my Mum she had been named in the Will we are treating it, at this stage, that she died without a Will.
My questions are:
- Am I able to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration to deal with the estate on behalf of my Mum?
And due to the following information on the Gov.uk site:
If the person did not leave a will
You can apply for letters of administration if you’re the person’s next of kin, in the following order of priority: 1. the married partner or civil partner 2. their child (including adopted children, but not step-children) 3. their parent 4. their brother or sister 5. their grandparent 6. their uncle or aunt You can apply if you were still married or in a civil partnership with the person when they died, even if you were separated from them. You cannot apply if you’re the partner of the person but were not their spouse or civil partner when they died.
- do these regulations preclude my Mum from being eligible to have a claim against the estate as she is none of the 1-6 itemised in the priority list?
Any advice or next steps would be greatly appreciated.
The deceased had not been in contact for some years, not through any ill feeling, but more likely because my Mum, her first cousin and only relative is 96 and in a home with dementia. I have a Court of Protection Order to act on her behalf. We do now have a copy of the death certificate. We do not have details of any bank or solicitors for the deceased and there is no Will on the Wills Register.
Our relative lived alone and her house is now empty but we have no access to the property, which is in another part of the country. This may well be where the Will is located, so even though over the years the deceased told my Mum she had been named in the Will we are treating it, at this stage, that she died without a Will.
My questions are:
- Am I able to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration to deal with the estate on behalf of my Mum?
And due to the following information on the Gov.uk site:
If the person did not leave a will
You can apply for letters of administration if you’re the person’s next of kin, in the following order of priority: 1. the married partner or civil partner 2. their child (including adopted children, but not step-children) 3. their parent 4. their brother or sister 5. their grandparent 6. their uncle or aunt You can apply if you were still married or in a civil partnership with the person when they died, even if you were separated from them. You cannot apply if you’re the partner of the person but were not their spouse or civil partner when they died.
- do these regulations preclude my Mum from being eligible to have a claim against the estate as she is none of the 1-6 itemised in the priority list?
Any advice or next steps would be greatly appreciated.
