Probate without a will

Buster_Danog

My mother passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday morning. I hope to start organising her funeral tomorrow and my guess is I will need to use the savings from my ISA to pay for it because I can't see probate being done and a deduction for funeral expenses taking place before the funeral.

Anyway, my main question is about the process of prbate without a will. Will they take weeks and months and do a family tree search or will they accept that me and my sister and nobody else are entitled to my mother's savings based on our birth certificates?

My mum was divorced about a year ago and we probably have the divorce certificate somewhere. Also, my mum's saving are about £15,000 and I used to sort out her money for her and therefore have internet access to her accounts. However, I have no power of attorney. I'd really appreciate the advice right now, especially since she left no will.

supermezzo

My sympathy to you for your loss.
When we buried my step-father a few months back, the undertaker was paid after the event and I'm sure that is the norm.
May be worth a call to the citizens advice, although I know that even the simplest of things at this difficult time can seem hard work.

Pee

I'm sorry to hear about your Mum.

If you give the funeral bill to the bank or building society where she has savings then they will pay that direct.

You should ask them whether they require a Grant of Representation - it would be letters of Administration rather than Probate - and they may well say that you can sign a small estates indemnity. This is most likely to be the case, given she has about £15,000.

If they do require a Grant you can do this yourself, or speak to a solicitor who would probably charge about £400 plus VAT to get a Grant for you.

You don't need to prove who the relatives are, just swear the Oath that states you will administer the estate properly. You will need the divorce papers as the date of the divorce will need to be included.

Buster_Danog

Thanks for the replies and sympathies guys. It means a lot.

ticklepenny_2

Hello,

Any estate left without a will gets passed to the nearest blood relative, with Offspring being the top of the list.

Here is some information relating to "ownerless estates" or estates with out a will.

HTH
x

pattycake

My mother died suddenly and unexpectedly in January of this year, so I know what you are going through and you have my deepest sympathy.

Regarding payment of the funeral, my mother had a will and a sizeable estate which is still being dealt with by solicitors. However, she an account at the Nationwide and I merely took in the death certificate and the funeral directors account and they sent it off to their Bereavement Section. A cheque was sent to my father (payable to the undertaker) very quickly as there was a pretty good discount for paying the bill within two weeks. Hope this helps.

myrnahaz

It's such a horrible time, and my heart goes out to you.

Funeral directors are used to these situations so it will probably ease your worries when you speak to the one who will organise your Mum's funeral. The FD we went to for my parents funerals just took over all the arrangements -they sorted the flowers, newspaper notices and everything, which was a huge burden lifted from our shoulders at a really difficult time. We were able to have full input into the arrangements, and could have done everything ourselves, but we were happy to leave it to them.
They even waited a few weeks until dad's finances were sorted before chasing for payment of the bill.