do i need to investigate further? Farthers death 2 years ago

cypher007

I recently found out my Father passed away 2 years ago, nearly 3. I only found out as I was trying to get back in touch with him after about 8 years. his new wife took a distinct disliking to me so we agreed not to correspond.


ive searched online and cannot find a will on the gov site listed for him. there is an entry for her death in 2009 that says probate. he died in 2012. info from a neighbour suggests the step son (her son) is now living in the bungalow they used to live in.


I suppose my question is, as usual, do I have any claim on his estate, being as im his biological son?

G6JNS

cypher007 wrote: »

I recently found out my Father passed away 2 years ago, nearly 3. I only found out as I was trying to get back in touch with him after about 8 years. his new wife took a distinct disliking to me so we agreed not to correspond.


ive searched online and cannot find a will on the gov site listed for him. there is an entry for her death in 2009 that says probate. he died in 2012. info from a neighbour suggests the step son (her son) is now living in the bungalow they used to live in.


I suppose my question is, as usual, do I have any claim on his estate, being as im his biological son?

Sadly it is very unlikely.

RAS

Probably not but you could get a copy of her will from the Probate Registry a copy of the deeds from the Land Registry.

You may well find that the house was left to her son with father having the right to live there until his death.

Jagraf

cypher007 wrote: »

I recently found out my Father passed away 2 years ago, nearly 3. I only found out as I was trying to get back in touch with him after about 8 years. his new wife took a distinct disliking to me so we agreed not to correspond.


ive searched online and cannot find a will on the gov site listed for him. there is an entry for her death in 2009 that says probate. he died in 2012. info from a neighbour suggests the step son (her son) is now living in the bungalow they used to live in.


I suppose my question is, as usual, do I have any claim on his estate, being as im his biological son?

Do you know for sure it was your dads bungalow?

cypher007

not 100% sure it was his, but he was the main income provider, so just assumed.


already getting a copy of the will via a gov site.

pathtofreedom

Are you in scotland as I think they have different inheritance rules to the rest of the uk.

BobQ

cypher007 wrote: »

not 100% sure it was his, but he was the main income provider, so just assumed.


already getting a copy of the will via a gov site.

When they married was the house already owned by one of them?

The most likely situation is that the house was in your father's wife's name and has been transferred to her son in her Will since he is living there. Get a copy of the probate and you will find out.

There is an outside chance that the house is in your father's name and the step son has just carried on living there hoping nobody would notice (did he know how to contact you?). Land Registry should clear that up.

The other possibility is that your father transferred the house to his wife or her son while he was alive.

If he died with out a Will clearly you might be entitled to something. But if a Will existed, it does not necessarily need to be registered with anyone if Probate is not required. Say all he left was £25K in savings and he had a Will leaving this to the step son, there would be no need to contact you or (probably) to apply for Probate.

You can download the title register on line for about £4 from the Land Registry
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry

Land_Registry

I can't advise on inheritance issues or wills but if the property was in their joint and/or then sole names then following their deaths someone would need to apply for probate (recorded will) or letters of administration (unrecorded will) if they wanted to change the registered ownership details for a property in England and Wales.

BobQ has linked you to our online service where you should be able to check who is registered as the owner for the address. It costs £3 to view/download a copy of the register.

nom_de_plume

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

BobQ has linked you to our online service where you should be able to check who is registered as the owner for the address. It costs £3 to view/download a copy of the register.

Is historical (ie previous) ownership detail available via that link?

Land_Registry

No, not currently although we hope to make that available online in the future.

If you need historical/previous information and you have a specific date in mind then you can Get historical title registers by post
However often people are unsure of what date is the correct one so we usually ask people to contact us using our online contact form with the exact details re property/title number and what historical info they are after and we then check and advise what is available, how to apply and the cost involved. Cost is normally £7 per item e.g. register, deed, form

cypher007

pathtofreedom wrote: »

Are you in scotland as I think they have different inheritance rules to the rest of the uk.

England.


on a side note I have spoken to someone who had a similar problem. he said that even though the gov will checking site doesn't show a will, there may have been one as the web site isn't always accurate.