Aunty has stolen the inheritance

housea

But we are trying to find out how to do it? The money is all gone. How do we find out how she managed to take everything? She has blocked them and has all the documentation.  Is there a court other than probate? And how do you find out? They simply cannot afford a solicter or will the police look into it? It's a mine field . Thanks all

housea

Thanks all for trying to help, I think the police is the next call. See what they say . 

MalMonroe

housea said:

Thanks all for trying to help, I think the police is the next call. See what they say . 

It's doubtful whether the police will be able to help. They will need proof of fraud, if there is any, in the first instance.

There's information about when someone dies intestate from Citizens Advice here -

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/who-can-inherit-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/

It doesn't sound like your children were close to their father or even had any communication with him prior to his death since nobody seems to know anything about him and his life, which is a shame. It may be that he told the aunty of his wishes and he may not have wanted his children to inherit anything.

Citizens advice can also help with the question of legal aid so your children can pursue the matter if they so wish.

My ex had a Thai Buddhist wedding a few years ago (when he got married for the fourth time - but that's another story) and although you say it's not legal, it IS legal if the marriage is then registered at the local District Office or 'Amphoe' in Thailand. My ex's current marriage is as legal as his first marriage was. 

As Thugelmir says though, it's up to the children to deal with this themselves. 

housea

He was very close to his daughter. They were not close to their aunt but still trusted her. The children emptied his flat and sent all documents to her as she said she would deal with it. I don't know why people are making things up. Sorry but if you can't help please don't comment as its upsetting. I am just asking for advice of any Where to go to find out rather than writing to every one. So please does  any one know how she could have emptied banks with out probate or a will ?  My children never read up legal things at the time but now know she would not have been able to do anything without their written permission. They did not know this 3 years ago. They trusted their aunt and loved their father..  Sorry I have eye trouble so cannot see clearly this morning so I apologise for typos.  Thanks sll

Flugelhorn

I suspect one of the difficult things is that he seems to have had assets in different countries so sometimes the local laws apply - a friend's father had a house in austria which had to be dealt with under local laws not his UK will and those did not match with his UK wishes 

I don;t know what the laws are in Portugal or what the equivalent or probate is - maybe a close family member can just do that?

Were the bank accounts in England ? if so they will have  released significant funds on the sight of a death cert &  will (if there is one), assurance that the person was dealing with the estate etc  - I have heard it is up to 30K though some banks maybe more 

AntoMac

I would suggest giving  Citizens Advice a call in the first instance. Also, some solicitors offer a free short appointment. Good luck 

Grumpelstiltskin

Portuguese Inheritance Laws

Selling Inherited Property in Portugal -Contact us for Advice! (lawyers-portugal.com)

[Deleted User]

If she had the PIN numbers to the bank account she could easily take out £500 a day 
although it’s not really  legal I did this when my dad died last year 
I was the executor but I did tell the beneficiaries I was doing this as I didn’t want to wait for the banks to allow me to have the money and didn’t want to have to put stuff on my credit card either 

I took out almost £9000 in 3 weeks and left the rest in the account 
the bank Lloyds never questioned this and when I sent them the death certificate and copy of the will afterwards they then sent the rest of the money to my account 

thegreenone

Are you/children able to contact the HR department of the co. he worked for?  If so, explain all and ask them to talk to the pension co. to find out what's happened there.

Are you/children able to talk to the local authority in Portugal to explain that the house is NOT abandoned and Aunty cannot sell and squatters cannot buy it until the estate is sorted out?  And also if they know any more about the property.

Good luck.  I hope you and the children can at least sort out this mess and salvage something.

missnosey122

I would certainly get a solicitor involved if estate was worth more than tax allowance hmrc could be looking for someone to claim back taxes from.

Hope everything works out for you all.