Person abroad refusing to return belongings of deceased family member

[userANON321]

Hello,

I'm seeking advice on how to deal with a rather tragic situation my family has landed in. My mother passed away in Spain a few months, she had moved out there from the UK after meeting someone online and was sadly found dead 3 months later. She was still married to my dad, who is her registered next of kin. I have tried to communicate with the person she was living with out there who is refusing to send back any of her belongings unless we communicate with him via a solicitor. Any other communication and he will report me for harassment. After receiving my mums bank statements, I can see a large portion of money was sent directly to this person. How should we go about getting his belongings and assets? If we pay for a solicitor, what is to stop this person from being uncooperative and wasting our time and money?

Thank you.

[PallasAthena]

Sorry to hear about your mother.

When you say "a large portion of money was sent directly to this person" do you mean the money was sent after your mother's death, so that someone else must have arranged the transfer? Or do you mean that it was sent by your mother before she died?

If sent by your mother before she died what grounds do you have to ask for it back?

Was the bank account in the UK or Spain?

Did your mother leave a Will? Separate Wills for her UK and Spanish possessions? Are you named as the Executor of her UK Will?

[dslippy]

The request to deal only with a solicitor is proper in the absence of any information as to executorship.

[userANON321]

Thank you for your response.

Shortly after she moved out there, she was diagnosed with several mental health issues. After this period money was sent from her UK bank account to this persons UK bank account. We don't know whether this was done to hide assets during the financial disclosure during the divorce or whether this person transferred it without my mums knowledge.

She did not have a will but was still married to my dad when she died.

Thanks

[PallasAthena]

If she died without leaving Will (died "Intestate") then you have no legal authority to demand her possessions be given to you.

To get that legal authority you would need to be appointed the administrator of your mother's Estate under Letters of Administration. But it may be your father who has to apply for Letters of Adminstration, not you.

Whether you need Letters of Administration otherwise will depend on what is in the Estate. That's as far as your mother's possessions in England are concerned. I know nothing about the law on Wills in Spain. You may need to consult a solicitor who deals with British ex-pats in Spain who have property in both countries.

[userANON321]

Thank you for the response. She didn't have any estate in Spain, she was living their illegally with this person for the some period after her visa had expired. This person was also acting as my mums solicitor throughout the divorce despite having no qualifications to do so. This money has been sent into this persons account after she was diagnosed with mental health issues.

Does my dad have absolutely no grounds on requesting that this be sent back to the family and this person can just get away with stealing all of her money?

[echat11]

Thank you for the response. She didn't have any estate in Spain, she was living their illegally with this person for the some period after her visa had expired. This person was also acting as my mums solicitor throughout the divorce despite having no qualifications to do so. This money has been sent into this persons account after she was diagnosed with mental health issues.

Does my dad have absolutely no grounds on requesting that this be sent back to the family and this person can just get away with stealing all of her money?

Firstly sorry for your loss.

All of this sounds suspicious (it might not be, I don't know), but sounds text book in some aspects. I suppose it could be a Romance Fraud.

Vulnerable person, online chat, moves overseas, money transferred etc.

It could / should be reported to the police - https://www.surrey.police.uk/romancefraud

Also, it might be an idea to do / or get done a 'background' search on this person. The police can do this with their Spanish counterparts. See if there is a 'criminal pass'.

When you get letters of administration send the bank / banks a Subject Access Request, see if you can get more information on the transfer.

You would think that this person would want to comfort you and your family, but is doing the opposite, putting aside money etc.

[PallasAthena]

She did have Estate in Spain because the belongings that you are trying to get back are there. However it may be that these are mainly of personal and sentimental value to you and have little or no financial value.

Having mental health issues isn't the same as not having mental capacity to make her own decisions. If she wasn't specifically diagnosed as lacking mental capacity then, in the absence of any other factors, her transfer of money from her UK bank account before her death would likely be legal. There may be other relevant factors though, per post above.

If the person in Spain took money from her account after she died that might well be theft but I understand from your posts that hasn't happened.

Have you notified her bank of her death and sent them a copy of the death certificate? If not you should do so as as soon as possible in case the person in Spain is in possession of your mother's bank card and PIN. Likewise for any credit cards. The bank will then freeze the account.