Grant of access to a property

lolkory41

Hi. So a parent died recently, with no will. They didn’t re marry after divorcing our other parent & their current partner is being very difficult about accessing their property for us to take their possessions. They didn’t own the property they lived in, was only rented, therefore, there are only possessions as an estate. I am next of kin with my sibling & would like to know how I can gain a grant of access to get in and take what is rightfully ours. Do we need to instruct a solicitor or can we do this on our own?? Please help!!

Keep_pedalling

Very difficult situation, but you are have no right to enter the property and no court is going to give you that permission. Going to court for a low value estate is not going to be worth the effort, so if there are specific items you want your best option is to try to smooth things over with the partner, but please take into account that they a grieving and grief can make people react in strange ways.

Who arranged and paid for the funeral? If it was the partner then they are entitled to recover those costs from the estate, which could mean you have nothing to inherit.

In your situation if you can’t get them to cooperate I would let it go, otherwise it could drag on for years. I am afraid part of the blame lies with the parent for failing (as many people do) to make a will. Yes intestacy rules are there to cover such situations but clear rewritten instructions are less likely to be ignored by the surviving partner.

Flugelhorn

You really do need to soothe this over - it may be  hard to distinguish which items are your father's solely and which are jointly owned by he and the partner - if there are some family items you want for sentimental reasons then best to ask specifically for those.

lolkory41

KKeep_pedalling said:

Who arranged and paid for the funeral? If it was the partner then they are entitled to recover those costs from the estate, which could mean you have nothing to inherit.

lolkory41

We took care of the funeral not the partner,

lolkory41

Yes they are more personal & family items, rather than furniture etc.

Thank you for your help 

Dymphna60

It is difficult to think logically in times of grief . I would say try to though . 

How can you prove that a sofa your parent and partner sat on in their home belonged solely to your parent for example. 

The partner can also say that your parent gave  them everything whilst still alive .
Hopefully you will be able to soothe over any bad feelings in your relationship and compose a letter where you can after expressing your feelings on your shared loss ask for somethings you would particularly like for example a grandfathers pocket watch ? 

There is also the element of being careful what you wish for . 

If you really lean on the partner hard you may find a van at your door one day with old beds , crockery , washed out towels ect being unloaded onto your drive . 

Particularly if the partner decides to move this could be the easiest way to get rid of things they don’t want . 

lolkory41

Thank you, I will keep this all in mind

pickledonionspaceraider

Have you actually knocked the door, face to face, and asked for momentos of your father?  I cannot understand how a request like that could be denied, if it is momentos that you are after