Inheritance theft

ggtazzy

Hi my partners dad died last month without a will. So now her brother and sister have proceeded to steal all assets from his home and also taken a large amount of cash from his home and they are not producing any receipts for any of the funeral expenses which they are claiming cost a small fortune. What can I do to stop them and recoup my share of the inheritance.

Sea_Shell

ggtazzy said:

Hi my partners dad died last month without a will. So now her brother and sister have proceeded to steal all assets from his home and also taken a large amount of cash from his home and they are not producing any receipts for any of the funeral expenses which they are claiming cost a small fortune. What can I do to stop them and recoup my share of the inheritance.

I assume you mean your partner's share?

A month is too early to start jumping to conclusions that they are not going to (eventually) act properly.

Does his estate include any property or bank deposits/shares/ premium bonds that will require probate to be applied for?

Brie

Your partner needs to have a talk with her siblings about how the intestacy work and that everything will need to be split properly.  Assuming dad didn't have a spouse living as they should get everything.  After that it would be equal between all the children, potentially even ones you don't know about.

And if necessary maybe change the locks on the house.  ("sorry! I assumed dad had given a neighbour a key and they were stealing things as everytime I show up something else has gone missing!!!  I knew it couldn't have been either of you!!!)

ggtazzy

Sea shell sorry yes I mean my partner. The bungalow her dad lived in was rented and they had the keys when he died so no property owned.They have already acted improperly they have taken a large amount of cash which he had in a big biscuit tin which were his savings they are denying that it ever existed the whole family knows it did and also  a small tin of money with £4,000  out of his bungalow they have emptied the bungalow of all his property and sold it.He also had £15,000 in a bank account.they have planned and paid for the funeral and kept me out of everything and told me it has cost over £10,000 for a simple cremation and won't show me any receipts and they have given me a cheque for £2,000 and told me that's what is my share how have they not acted improper. And Brie we have tried explaining the rules of intestacy to them and they take no notice. I guess what I bam asking is if my partner applies for intestacy will that recoup any of her share which they have already taken including money from his account and property they have taken from his home and would they have to produce receipts for a what they say was £10,000 funeral.

p00hsticks

ggtazzy said:

Sea shell sorry yes I mean my partner. The bungalow her dad lived in was rented and they had the keys when he died so no property owned.They have already acted improperly they have taken a large amount of cash which he had in a big biscuit tin which were his savings they are denying that it ever existed the whole family knows it did and also  a small tin of money with £4,000  out of his bungalow they have emptied the bungalow of all his property and sold it.He also had £15,000 in a bank account.they have planned and paid for the funeral and kept me out of everything and told me it has cost over £10,000 for a simple cremation and won't show me any receipts and they have given me a cheque for £2,000 and told me that's what is my share how have they not acted improper. And Brie we have tried explaining the rules of intestacy to them and they take no notice. I guess what I bam asking is if my partner applies for intestacy will that recoup any of her share which they have already taken including money from his account and property they have taken from his home and would they have to produce receipts for a what they say was £10,000 funeral.

Why have they given you a cheque ? If you are just the partner of one of the deceased's children under the intestacy rules then you are not entitled to anything.  You keep saying 'me' and 'my' whcih make your posts more difficult to follow ....

HampshireH

Perhaps best to post either as you or about your partner.

You need to decide whose inheritance this actually is. How do you know this exact amount of cash was in he bank etc 

Why would they give you a £2k cheque but your partner (who would be more entitled) hasn't had a cheque.

It's all a bit confusing

Brie

Short answer seems to be that the siblings are nasty and greedy and that your partner won't be seeing anything more.  If they were honest they would be happy to share the receipts and all the proceeds but obviously they are not honest.

With an estate of maybe £20k+ there wouldn't be a lot of share in any case so I would suggest your partner doesn't waste any time and certainly not any money on chasing after something that is long gone.  Just make sure the cheque is cashed asap.

Sea_Shell

Sounds like the money is long gone then.  As is your partner's relationship with her siblings ☹️

Bank that cheque ASAP and then move on.   Don't spend any more time or money on it.

Even if you were to report it to the police, as theft, they're unlikely to take any action and merely say it's a "civil matter".

The_Fat_Controller

All the cash is hearsay unless you can actually prove otherwise.

Get your partner to go to the bank and see if anyone else had/has authority over the account.

The bank would not release funds to anyone without such authority.

Why did YOU get a cheque for £2000 when you are not a beneficiary ?

You don't get a share under intestacy rules.

It all sounds rather dodgy from every perspective.

ggtazzy

Sorry for being confusing yes I am writing on my partners behalf which I have to do she has a brain injury and is cognitively impaired so yes I get a little mixed up sometimes I apologize. Brie thanks for answering my question you obviously were not confused.

ggtazzy

This is the situation my partners father was disabled and claiming benefits for over 40 years he had £15,000 in a joint account with his granddaughter but the money was all his he was the sole contributer she just did some banking for him and I know that money should pass straight to her being the joint account holder unless she agrees that my partners father intended for that money to be shared between his children which she has agreed to which is why my partner got a cheque from that account for £2,000. So my partners father dealt in cash he had a big win on the football pools and also inherited a large amount of cash when his father died which he kept in cash in his house which the whole family knows about and has witnessed in his possession. Why did he keep it in cash in house because he could not have any more than £16,000 in his bank account. Is the large amount of cash money just hearsay when so many people witnessed he had it. Maybe the DWP can find it.