Changing locks waiting for letters of administration

[Gnoble17]

I recently found out my estranged father did not leave a will.

I am the next of kin. He hasn't lived in a house he owns solely in his own name for a while, neither has his partner (she lives at the opposite end of the country), I am in the UK.

Her relatives still have keys and are going in and out of the house. I have been told by my solicitor I need to get unoccupied house insurance. Am I able to change the locks to stop them entering before I have actual received the letters of administration or do I need to wait until this has been granted.

They have no claim on the house, I am the only daughter.

Thank you

[PallasAthena]

If I remember from your previous thread your late father was not married to his partner and you have no siblings. So as only surving child you have primary right to be Administrator of his estate. The Administrator has a legal duty to safeguard and maintain the house and its contents. I believe you have applied for Letters of Administration. So you are entitled to change the locks to meet your obligations to safeguard the house and its contents. Do it asap.

Even if there were a theoretical legal argument that you shouldn't change the lock until Letters of Administration have been issued (which I doubt - you are the sole "most entitled person") by the time anyone took legal action to challenge you the Letters of Adminstration would have been issued.

And if in the meantime they took matters into their own hands and forced entry you would report it to the police as a crime - theft &/or criminal damage

The solicitor is right about insurance. Search online for "executor insurances" and several specialist companies offer insurance cover for executors/administrators for houses that are unoccupied after someone's death. You will have to pay the premium yourself but can reclaim it from the estate once you are formally the Administrator.

[PallasAthena]

The partner was living there until your father died wasn't she? So she is entitled to make arrangements with you to collect her personal property. You might want to be there to check what is being removed.

Any arguments from her friends about you changing locks just say your solicitor told you to because it's standard practice in order to secure the property.