Legal rights etc

[Karen05]

Good Afternoon,


I'm wondering if you can assist myself.

Long story short my wife left myself May 2020, we reconciled June 2020 but living apart. My wife moved into her own flat September 2020 and furnished it, as stated she didn't want anything from our house. Most personal belongings was removed by herself.
Both properties were leased.

My wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer December 2020 and sadly died 5th December 2021.

Upon her diagnosis she finished our relationship on 2nd January 2021.

As such I now have a solicitor acting on behalf of the executor and trustee demanding an inventory from myself, my wife left a will and also placed her insurance policy in trust. I was not named in said will.

The executor wants an inventory of all joint property, any property of my wife she left behind, business property of my late wife's. And to include my motor vehicle in said inventory.

I've advised her solicitor I only have some personal belongings of my late wife, but still being pursued.

The questions I have is do I have a legal obligation to provide this information.

We both owned the business equipment, I own my car and have the purchase receipt and bank statement in my name, also upon death does the furniture etc they want an inventory on not pass to myself etc.

Also the executor has not provided myself with a legal rights inventory of my late wife's moveable estate.

I'm in Scotland.

[sederunt]

The executor has a requirement to assess and administer the estate. If you hold items that were owned by your late wife at the time of her death, it seems reasonable to pass information to the executor to allow the estate to be administered. But you need to guard against unfairness.

Because your late wife left a will, then you do not automatically own her share of any jointly owned items when she died. In a normal cohabit situation, there is a presumption of equal ownership of household items, unless there is evidence to the contrary. Market value is used for valuation, that is what items might reasonably be sold for. If there is little or no resale demand then values will be modest or zero.

Business asset ownership is more complicated and depends on the nature of the business.

As described, the car is nothing to do with her estate.

Because you were still married, you are of course entitled to legal rights even though you are not mentioned in her will - this is 50% of her net moveable estate if she had no children, or 30% if there are children.