Do executors have automatic access to keys to a property?

GoogleMeNow

Cloth_of_Gold said:

GoogleMeNow said:

Malthusian said:

GoogleMeNow said:

We are all being left some small monetary gifts but the property has been left to a neighbour (another story!).  My family just want to collect some family photographs that she had.  She was 99 years old so some of the photos are very old and show her family from many years ago.  These are part of our family history - they are of no interest to the solicitors nor the neighbour and we cannot understand why they won't either allow access or post them to us.

Have you made the neighbour an offer for them? If they're a neighbour you presumably know where to knock on their door or post a letter through the letterbox. You could also go via the solicitor, but for personal items of no material value like this I can't see a reason not to approach the neighbour directly with a reasonable offer if you can.

Legally the photos may belong to whoever inherits the residual estate (which isn't specified in your post), but the chances of getting them by going legal are almost nil.

Apologies to the OP for derailing this thread.

Just to answer this, the neighbour has been left the property and a percentage of the residual estate.

I'm a niece, along with 5 other nephews and nieces, who all receive a percentage of the residual estate.

Did the will specify who would inherit your aunt's personal effects? If not, and it simply stated that you all get a percentage of the residual estate then that would surely include a percentage of the contents of the house. I would ask the solicitor how he intends to share out any of the contents of the house that have not been left to a named individual. 

What you don't want is for the solicitor to pay a house clearance firm to take everything who will then sell anything saleable and take everything else for recycling or to a refuse tip, which could include the photos. Surely some common sense needs to be applied here. If the solicitor won't play ball then does the neighbour have access? If so, I would approach them and ask for the photos. Why would they not give them to you?

Thank you.

The Will didn't specify anything regarding personal effects, so I will go back to the solicitor asking how they intend to deal with this - suspect a clearance firm is highly likely.

The neighbour who has been left the property is 92 years old and is quite confused about the photos, saying he doesn't have any.  He even showed me his photos (of his family), which obviously we are not interested in.  I have met with him at his home (he does have a key, but denies it, saying he gave it to the solicitor) but trying to get sense out of him and him understanding what we are asking for is like banging our heads against a wall.

Apologies to OP again.   

Malthusian

GoogleMeNow said:

Apologies to the OP for derailing this thread.

Just to answer this, the neighbour has been left the property and a percentage of the residual estate.

I'm a niece, along with 5 other nephews and nieces, who all receive a percentage of the residual estate.

In which case there is no clear destination for the photos and the ownership is up for negotiation between all the residual beneficiaries. Which clearly the neighbour isn't able to take part in. (Assuming that the photos are not part of the fixtures and therefore the neighbour's property.)

This is a tricky situation because the solicitor can't simply let you in and take what you fancy; if you took anything from the house that had any value at all, they would have to take it into account in the distribution of the residual estate, otherwise any of the other beneficiaries could complain that they haven't had an equal share.

If the solicitor continues to blank you, you could make a formal complaint that they are not responding to your entirely reasonable request to be allowed to enter the property to recover personal effects at whatever time is convenient (e.g. whenever they or a house clearance firm attend the property). A formal complaint will force a response.

The only other option I can think of, beyond writing the photos off, is some light burglary.

There is a significant chance that doing nothing and hoping that the photos eventually make their way to you, will end with the house being sold and being told that everything went into a skip. 

Bear in mind that pursuing the solicitors over the photos is likely to significantly reduce the size of the residual estate as the solicitors' costs will be coming out of it. (The neighbour by contrast is getting a specific bequest which the solicitors' costs won't touch, unless they eat up the whole of the residual estate.)

 (he does have a key, but denies it, saying he gave it to the solicitor) 

How do you know he is lying about giving it to the solicitor?

GoogleMeNow

Malthusian said:

GoogleMeNow said:

Apologies to the OP for derailing this thread.

Just to answer this, the neighbour has been left the property and a percentage of the residual estate.

I'm a niece, along with 5 other nephews and nieces, who all receive a percentage of the residual estate.

In which case there is no clear destination for the photos and the ownership is up for negotiation between all the residual beneficiaries. Which clearly the neighbour isn't able to take part in. (Assuming that the photos are not part of the fixtures and therefore the neighbour's property.)

This is a tricky situation because the solicitor can't simply let you in and take what you fancy; if you took anything from the house that had any value at all, they would have to take it into account in the distribution of the residual estate, otherwise any of the other beneficiaries could complain that they haven't had an equal share.

If the solicitor continues to blank you, you could make a formal complaint that they are not responding to your entirely reasonable request to be allowed to enter the property to recover personal effects at whatever time is convenient (e.g. whenever they or a house clearance firm attend the property). A formal complaint will force a response.

The only other option I can think of, beyond writing the photos off, is some light burglary.

There is a significant chance that doing nothing and hoping that the photos eventually make their way to you, will end with the house being sold and being told that everything went into a skip. 

Bear in mind that pursuing the solicitors over the photos is likely to significantly reduce the size of the residual estate as the solicitors' costs will be coming out of it. (The neighbour by contrast is getting a specific bequest which the solicitors' costs won't touch, unless they eat up the whole of the residual estate.)

 (he does have a key, but denies it, saying he gave it to the solicitor) 

How do you know he is lying about giving it to the solicitor?

Fair enough, I probably made an assumption because he did have a key when my Aunt was alive - he may have bought something to turn the lights on and off in the evening instead.

user1977

jaytee28 said:

Nobody other than myself has keys to my flat, I am wondering are there any barriers to the executors gaining access to my flat after I die?

In what circumstances do you think you'll die? If you're away from home (whether in hospital or elsewhere), presumably you'll have your keys with you? If you're in your flat - well, either somebody else is with you, or somebody will already have forced entry to discover that you're dead...

In any event, getting locksmiths to force entry is easily enough done, and executors are entitled to arrange that if they had to.

jaytee28

Many thanks for all the replies (and no problem with the "hijacking" it's always good to share our experiences).   I've given the solicitors my original will and just retained a copy in my property, and also advised executors of my wishes . Thanks again everybody.

danco

jaytee, do you think it is worth storing a set of keys with a keyholding company and telling people (maybe your relative, maybe a neighbour) which company has them?

I had a friend who died suddenly and was only discovered a week later when a neighbour noticed the milk bottles outside. Very unpleasant physically, and I had to deal with finding out where her body was (as there had to be an inquest) and arranging a funeral as her children were in the USA.

user1977

danco said:

jaytee, do you think it is worth storing a set of keys with a keyholding company and telling people (maybe your relative, maybe a neighbour) which company has them?

It doesn't really seem like a money-saving solution if the only purpose to save a fairly modest bill for forcing entry (which would only arise in the fairly uncommon event of dying suddenly alone at home).