Claim on intestate estate - letter of administration has been granted to a relative.

[Harv]

Hi, I am seeking clarification with regard to the process required to make a claim against an intestate estate (my cousin).

I am Australian and my cousin (whom I had never met, large family) passed in the UK, Blackpool.

A letter of Administration has been granted to another cousin (on her mother's side, I am from her father's side) from the Cardiff probate registry.

As far as I can garner, from the BVD website, I need to contact the administrator and provide proof of relationship/eligibility and the administrator would take it from there.

The questions I have are :

1. Am I correct that the process outlined above is what is required?

2. What documents should I provide to prove my eligibility/identity (passport is not possible as I do not have one)?

3. Is there anything I am missing or should be aware of in this process?

4. How is the value on an estate calculated when property is involved (the probate registry had a record of the administrator and the gross and net valuation of the estate, would this mean my cousin's property assets have been sold or is probate valuation only an estimate)?


Thankyou all for your time and advice.

[PallasAthena]

Property values in Probate/Administration are estimates by the Executor/Administrator. It doesn't mean the house has actually been sold. It would be very difficult in practice for the house to be sold before Probate/Letters of Administration have been issued.

Why do you think you have a claim on the Estate?

Have you used the government intestacy checker to see if you entitled to a share of the Estate? Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you do have an entitlement then essentially it's a matter of you identifying yourself to the Administrator and provide details of how you can be contacted. It would be up to the administrator to satisfy themself that you are a beneficiary. If they don't know you personally I expect they would ask for photo ID and other proofs of relationship. There are no specific rules.

If a complete stranger who I'd never heard of had contacted me when I was an Executor claiming entitlement I'd have done a lot of research to establish who they were, especially if the Estate was large. The world is full of fraudsters making false claims to be a beneficiary and I'd have wanted to be sure you weren't one of them!

[Harv]

Property values in Probate/Administration are estimates by the Executor/Administrator. It doesn't mean the house has actually been sold. It would be very difficult in practice for the house to be sold before Probate/Letters of Administration have been issued.

Why do you think you have a claim on the Estate?

Have you used the government intestacy checker to see if you entitled to a share of the Estate? Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you do have an entitlement then essentially it's a matter of you identifying yourself to the Administrator and provide details of how you can be contacted. It would be up to the administrator to satisfy themself that you are a beneficiary. If they don't know you personally I expect they would ask for photo ID and other proofs of relationship. There are no specific rules.

If a complete stranger who I'd never heard of had contacted me when I was an Executor claiming entitlement I'd have done a lot of research to establish who they were, especially if the Estate was large. The world is full of fraudsters making false claims to be a beneficiary and I'd have wanted to be sure you weren't one of them!

Thankyou for your reply.

Yes I am definitely a beneficiary, as are my siblings. Essentially all cousins (there are no other closer living relatives) are beneficiaries, of which there are 5 first cousins (4 on the fathers side and one on the mothers). In my case that cousin would have been my father, who passed a decade ago, and so his children are now beneficiaries. Apparently UK inheritance law passes down to the first cousin once removed level (assuming there is no living relative higher) and no further, or at least that is my understanding.

As the administrator is a cousin on the Mother's side (ie not mine) she may or may not be aware of me personally but she is certainly aware of this side of the family and that there are beneficiaries. I have a complete family tree and identity documents (not passport, although I could get one if required) so proof of entitlement should theoretically not be an issue.

Based on your advice, I think I will start with a letter explaining who I am and how I am related, and politely ask what she may need further to authenticate my claim.

Thankyou for your time and advice I do appreciate it.

[PallasAthena]

That sounds like the best course of action at this time.