Cash being held by police

user1977

Keep_pedalling said:

user1977 said:

macman said:

As she died intestate then you can apply to be the Administrator, not the Executor. But, in practice, the process is much the same.

And you'll need to do it before you can expect third parties to treat you as representing the estate.

There should be no need to apply for letters of administration for such a small estate.

There's not much you can do about it if any creditors insist though.

Spendless

tracey29 said:

macman said:

OP, are you next of kin, the executor, the Administrator? By what right are you claiming the money from her estate?

My aunt had next to nothing and didn’t leave a will. 

My dad and uncle are next of kin and they’ve asked me to be the executor so I’ve arranged everything and had no problem with repayments from TV licence and BT etc

Out of curiosity, how did TV licence and BT etc refund eg send you a cheque or just credit the account? It might just be the police's refund policy for cash is different to the companies you've already dealt with.   

tracey29

Abbafan1972 said:

Sorry for your loss. 

Chances are it's gone towards their Christmas do (that's the synic in me!).

It has crossed my mind....

tracey29

Spendless said

Out of curiosity, how did TV licence and BT etc refund eg send you a cheque or just credit the account? It might just be the police's refund policy for cash is different to the companies you've already dealt with.   

They sent a cheque - payable to me as we've already closed her bank account

TW1234

Is it normal practice for a police officer attending a death to remove estate assetts? In a case of sudden death, who is responsible for securing the deceased's possessions? Does it differ if death occurs on public or private property?

user1977

TW1234 said:

Is it normal practice for a police officer attending a death to remove estate assets?

If they find a body I would think it normal to remove it together with the clothing and the contents of the pockets.

Spendless

I suspect it's just not top of their list to deal with which is why the delay. We had a crime committed, damage to property & husband's car as it turned midnight on NYE/NYD, knew the culprits names, ages and the address of 2 of them. Had to send texts, emails, complain to the neighbourhood watch scheme, involve my local counsellor and go into the main police station to ask what was happening before the matter was dealt with. I would change the way you are contacting them, ask if there's a complaints procedure and please could the send you the form to start the process. See if that works.   

sammyjammy

I find it quite strange that they would pay this money into a bank account, wouldn't they just bag it up, label and secure it.  It all seems very strange, have you spoken to any other officers about the money?

Is it the same officer that attended her home?

TonyMMM

It would be quite normal for a large cash sum found at the scene of a sudden death to be taken by police for safe keeping, it is also quite normal for large cash sums coming into police possession in this type of circumstance to be banked rather than left in a property cupboard.

The officer who originally dealt with the death won't have any way of paying out a cheque and is reliant on back office admin staff to handle it ... 

Pennylane

I have read reports where Police staff have been sacked for stealing money and other valuables taken in from deceased people.