Uncle passed away without leaving a will...

Mojisola

blizeH wrote: »

Okay, here's the complication - he has no blood relatives at all. He was married to my nan's sister, basically. She was the business owner who made all of that money, but I think when she passed away everything was automatically switched to him, ahhh.

There's very few people who have no blood relations at all. You may need to go back down the family tree to his ancestors and then come forward but the chances are there is someone.

Whether you are interested when you won't gain financially is another matter.

If you want to keep the money from the government, you could alert some probate researchers to the size of the estate.

daska

Oh what a **** up. It might still be worth checking the probate records for her will just in case the solicitor she used when drafting her will can help (if she had a thriving business it might not have been the local one on the high street that took care of things) or if there was one who acted as executor for her estate they often help draft a new will for the surviving spouse. But that's the best I can come up with. I'm so sorry your hopes were raised.

Mojisola

Did your great-aunt leave a will? Sometimes a will leaves the spouse the use of money/property which then passes on after the second death.

barbeka

I'm afraid that if your mother's uncle is only a relation by marriage and not a blood relation then you are not entitled to any of his estate unless you can find a will. Sounds like the solicitors are correct and it is a lost cause and if he has no relatives the government will get all of his money.

Sorry. It might be worth trying what another poster said and seeing if you can use your great aunt's will (if she left one) to see if who drafted it did one for your uncle too - after all he may have one stored at a solicitors he wrote before he became a recluse.

You seem very sure that he didn't leave a will but it would be worth checking with his banks and local solicitors to see if they have one - it would still be valid even if written some time ago.

daska

barbeka wrote: »

I'm afraid that if your mother's uncle is only a relation by marriage and not a blood relation then you are not entitled to any of his estate unless you can find a will. Sounds like the solicitors are correct and it is a lost cause and if he has no relatives the government will get all of his money.

Sorry. It might be worth trying what another poster said and seeing if you can use your great aunt's will (if she left one) to see if who drafted it did one for your uncle too - after all he may have one stored at a solicitors he wrote before he became a recluse.

You seem very sure that he didn't leave a will but it would be worth checking with his banks and local solicitors to see if they have one - it would still be valid even if written some time ago.

Lets not raise his hopes too far a second time, unfortunately there is always the chance that it may not be valid, the validity depending on it being properly written and witnessed etc.

Mojisola

daska wrote: »

Lets not raise his hopes too far a second time, unfortunately there is always the chance that it may not be valid, the validity depending on it being properly written and witnessed etc.

It's more likely that some distant relative who did not even know of the great-uncle's existence is going to get a very nice surprise when he/she is contacted by the heir hunters.

daska

Mojisola wrote: »

Did your great-aunt leave a will? Sometimes a will leaves the spouse the use of money/property which then passes on after the second death.

Good one Mojisola. Given the amount of money involved and how long ago she died I would have expected the solicitor to have recommended a trust? But even if there were one the fact that they've found no evidence of one doesn't in itself mean anything as it may have been a paper exercise to transfer the money in and out of the trust on loan with no security and therefore no indication that it exists unless you know about it. Any trust documentation may well be at the same solicitors who wrote the aunt's will.

The one extra I can think of though is that it might be worth checking the land registry for any/all properties left by your Aunt, just in case the loan was secured against property.

OP, I think the general consensus is to get in touch with the Probate office and find out about your Aunt's will. It's the best lead you have.

blizeH

Many thanks all, doesn't sound too promising but definitely worth looking into, really appreciate all of your advice I think there was a will, but they can't find it. To put it quite bluntly, I don't think my uncle was really in any fit state of mind in his latter years, he'd never answer the door, never left the house (it was huge but was so run down, smashed windows etc) and refused any help, if you could even get through to speak to him - his 'filing system' was basically thousands of envelopes thrown into a room upstairs, a massive pile, so the chances of him actually trying to perserve the will my aunty left (or even knowing about it) are quite slim.

As for family on his side, there are none that anyone knows about. To put it into context there were only a handful of people that turned up to his funeral, pretty much a few from my aunties side of the family, and his next door neighbor. Looks like it could be heading to the government after all then!

Mojisola

blizeH wrote: »

his 'filing system' was basically thousands of envelopes thrown into a room upstairs, a massive pile, so the chances of him actually trying to perserve the will my aunty left (or even knowing about it) are quite slim.

You wouldn't expect to find your aunt's will at the house. If things were done properly when she died, it would have all gone through the official channels and the will would be a public document - https://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/courts-and-tribunals/courts/probate/copies-of-grants-wills.htm

If you want to do a search for a will - http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/pa1s_0405.pdf

The situation your uncle has left the family in is a good reason to raise the issue with everyone else in the family and make sure you all have up-to-date wills.

daska

For the sake of £6 or whatever the fee is now it's surely worth a search and contacting any solicitors/witnesses/executors it identifies who you haven't already spoken with?