Deceased Estate & Marriage Issue

[Beagle2000]

Hello, I'll try keep this short.

My mum passed away Mach 2023, she did not have a will in place.

As her son, I applied for letters of administration through the probate service, provided all necessary docs.

They responded requesting information on my mums marriage and confirmation if and when she divorced.

The person she married was prior to my being born, no one in my family knows this person or any details at all other than they were estranged from around 1990 after marrying in 1986.

I have undertaken multiple searches and cannot trace any record of a divorce through courts, ancestry etc.

So I now assume mum is still technically married, though I have no idea if her 'spouse' is still alive, where he is etc.

Question is: what can be done now? the estate is still frozen in probate, unsure of next steps other than confirming to probate service that there is no evidence of divorce?

Any guidance would be welcomed.

Thank you

[atticus]

Have you looked whether this person may have died? Enquire with the UK General Register Office https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-...ge-certificate

You may find a tracing service a worthwhile investment.

[PallasAthena]

Beagle2000 Do you know approximately how much your late mother's Estate will be?

I agree with Atticus about using a tracing agent. I don't know how much research you have done about intestacy, so apologies in advance if you know all this, but the question of who can apply for Letters of Administration [LoA] is only the first hurdle for you.

If it turns out that legally he is still your late mother's husband and he is still alive then he has first priority in applying for the LoA, he is the most "entitled" person in their legal jargon, although he could give up that entitlement and allow you be granted the LoA. [ Applying for probate: If there is not a will - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ] That's why Probate are asking for all this information about him.

Unfortunately there would then be a second issue for you, that as the surviving spouse he would be entitled to receive the majority of the Estate. Have a look at this intestacy calculator Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Whether there is any legal way you could prevent him getting the LoA and then inheriting the bulk of the Estate I don't know and you would probably need you to consult a specialist probate solicitor. I also don't know your options if you can't show that he has died but also can't find him despite using tracing agents.

Do you have a copy of his birth certificate? Do you have the marriage certificate? If not both will help a tracing agent and the cheapest and quickest way to get copies is via the General Register Office website General Register Office (GRO) - Official information on births, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths

Just a thought, but do a search for him in the marriage registers from 1990 onwards in case he remarried (illegally). If it turned out that he "remarried" when not divorced, so still married to your mother, it could be an advantageous thing for you to know for the future if you do find him.

Incidentally, should I assume from your post that he is not your father?

[Pezza54]

Consider placing S27 Notices in the local papers. Potential beneficiaries or creditors have 2 months to make a claim

What happens if the potential beneficiary cannot be traced?

Executors and administrators need to protect themselves from possible future claims if missing beneficiaries appear

Beneficiaries could be asked to sign indemnity policies, a written agreement that the money they inherit is repaid if any missing beneficiaries come forward

Beneficiaries may have spent their inheritance, so the executor/administrator should consider taking out insurance

A Benjamin Order protects the executor/administrator. This court order assumes that the beneficiary has died but it is expensive to obtain.

[atticus]

s27 Trustee Act notices are not an appropriate way to deal with the OP's problem. He cannot even get Letters of Administration while this question is unresolved, and so steps to protect him as administrator do not yet come into the reckoning.

If this man is alive, it seems he is entitled to a statutory legacy.in priority to all others.

If the man is deceased, and predeceased the OP's mother, then the OP and siblings will take in accordance with intestacy rules.

[Pezza54]

Sorry I may have jumped the gun
I expect OP hopes the husband has died or cannot be found.
If this is the case then OP should write to Probate, or better still make an appointment with their local probate registry office and enclose or take along evidence that a search has been carried out to find the man in question and he cannot be traced.
Hopefully probate will then grant the letters of administration to OP

[PallasAthena]

Although OP getting the grant of LoA will just be the start of OP's next challenge, the huband (if not proven dead or divorced) possibly being a 'missing beneficiary' as regards the bulk or even all of the Estate.

[Pezza54]

Yes, it would be safest if all beneficiaries agreed to taking out insurance with the cost of the insurance deducted from the estate

[atticus]

But before jumping the gun, try first to locate the man.