Father died without leaving a will - what do I do?

Matilda68

I found out recently that my father had died. We hadn't spoken for 30 years but as he didn't leave a will and wasn't married, apparently his estate comes to me as his only child. I've since received a (rather terse) letter from his brother stating that it is my responsibility to apply for probate and he has all the bank statements etc.

The house is miles away, I've only seen it online from a property listing when he tried to sell it a few years ago. According to Zoopla it has increased in value by £23,000 in the past 5 years but I have no idea if he had any debts. This could be really good or very, very bad! I'm considering using Co-op probate service, as they take their payment from the estate, but I'm really worried that there won't be any money and I'll be left in debt. I'm a full time student on disability benefit and I don't think I could cope with this myself. I've never even owned a house, and I have no idea what to do. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

duchy

There may be an insurance policy that clears any mortgage . Your first step should be to get the paperwork from your uncle and see what the general financial situation is.

Yorkshireman99

Matilda68 wrote: »

I found out recently that my father had died. We hadn't spoken for 30 years but as he didn't leave a will and wasn't married, apparently his estate comes to me as his only child. I've since received a (rather terse) letter from his brother stating that it is my responsibility to apply for probate and he has all the bank statements etc.

The house is miles away, I've only seen it online from a property listing when he tried to sell it a few years ago. According to Zoopla it has increased in value by £23,000 in the past 5 years but I have no idea if he had any debts. This could be really good or very, very bad! I'm considering using Co-op probate service, as they take their payment from the estate, but I'm really worried that there won't be any money and I'll be left in debt. I'm a full time student on disability benefit and I don't think I could cope with this myself. I've never even owned a house, and I have no idea what to do. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

If there is no will this called intestacy. Read the note in the sticky part of this forum for more information. You will need to apply for letters of administration to deal with the eastate. What does zoopla say the house is worth? It will cost a lot to get the Coop probate service to do the job I.e. Probably several thousand pounds.

Matilda68

OK, I'll write to my uncle today and ask him to forward the paperwork. According to Zoopla the house is worth £145,000. As far as I know he's been there about 10 years, it's unlikely he paid more than £100,000 for it. He's owned property all his life, sometimes more than one house at a time, and used to renovate them to sell. His work was always a very high standard and looking at the estate agent's pictures this house is in great condition, if a little old fashioned. I can't imagine that at the age of 72 he had much mortgage left to pay, but at this stage anything is possible. If there is likely to be plenty of money at the end of this I'd rather have someone else deal with it all, but I suppose until I see the paperwork I won't know whether this is something I can handle myself. I'm just freaking out a bit, I never expected to inherit anything and it's all been a bit of a shock!

Linton

What is happening about the house? Is it empty? Is someone looking after it? The house insurers need to be told that your father has died and if the house is empty. They will want paying. Given the cold weather this is urgent. And there are of course very many other people who need to be told.

As regards probate you do not have to accept the responsibility and it is generally advised that you dont if the estate is bankrupt - leave the hassle to the creditors. If the estate is solvent probate could for example be passed to your uncle if he agreed. However you may have a very strong financial interest in ensuring it is done quickly and properly whereas your uncle wont. Under your circumstances it may be necessary to get as much help from the solicitors as you need and accept the cost.

Matilda68

The house is empty, my uncle sorted out the utility bills but that's all I know. It seems that he is pretty unhappy that I'm inheriting everything, so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't bother looking after it. I suppose I also have to ask for the keys, and get up there asap to check it out.

I hadn't realised I didn't have to accept responsibility. Even if the estate is solvent, it's unlikely that my uncle would want the hassle or cost of administering it. I was kind of hoping that he would, but he was very clear in his letter that the responsibility is mine. Honestly, when I heard about my father's death I never gave a thought to any of this. He told me years ago that I'd get nothing, and my uncle told my mother that he'd said he didn't want me to have anything. It's not my fault he didn't leave a will! This is why I'm concerned, he either secretly did want me to have it all or he deliberately left me a huge headache with nothing at the end of it. It could go either way.

I have no idea if my uncle informed insurers etc. of the death. His letter consisted of three sentences, he's not going to make this easy for me.

melanzana

None of my business, I know, but if you are left with a sizeable sum, would you consider making a gift of some of the money left to your uncle?

Seems he might have looked after Dad over the years.

I may be speaking out of turn here though. Sorry if I am.

Mojisola

Matilda68 wrote: »

I found out recently that my father had died. We hadn't spoken for 30 years but as he didn't leave a will and wasn't married, apparently his estate comes to me as his only child.

Matilda68 wrote: »

It seems that he is pretty unhappy that I'm inheriting everything

Even if the estate is solvent, it's unlikely that my uncle would want the hassle or cost of administering it. I was kind of hoping that he would, but he was very clear in his letter that the responsibility is mine.

I have no idea if my uncle informed insurers etc. of the death. His letter consisted of three sentences, he's not going to make this easy for me.

Why would your uncle 'make it easy'? You've been estranged for over 30 years - you can't really expect your uncle to take on any responsibility and work for free when you're the only one befitting from the estate.

You are first in line under the intestacy rules but you don't have to accept the inheritance. You have the options of refusing it or offering to share it with your uncle.

Matilda68

To be honest I don't think I will do that. I'll share it with my mum, who struggled as a single parent with no help from my father or his family. He left when I was a baby, and refused to pay maintenence although he was quite well off at the time. In recent years he called her sometimes when he was drunk and said he was sorry and he'd leave everything to her, so if there is a nice chunk of money I'm going to see that he keeps that promise!

Matilda68

I didn't mean I expected him to make it easy, just that a little more information would have been nice.

getmore4less

It might be worth getting together with mum to deal with this 2 heads are often better than one even if it just sharing some of the worry.

Often setting aside a few days to go to the area the house is, getting the basics in place(securing the property) and trying to establish a rough idea of what the estate consists of can kick start the process you can decide if you have the time to deal with it.

Much of dealing with estates is relatively easy but can take time when you are picking your way through for the first time.