My children’s father died at home alone

[Indespair666]

Hi

My children’s father was found dead at home, they couldn’t get hold of him for a few days which was not normal. I called to get a welfare check as his phone would ring and go to voicemail, he had an old phone and the battery would have run out so I knew it must have been on charge.

The police first went to the wrong house as they said a woman answered and said no one with his name lived there (he lived alone).

I rang two more times before we heard that they broke in because they heard his tv on (police lady said if they hadn’t heard the TV they would not have entered.

Basically, they found him dead on the settee so it looks like he died on the Friday night as my middle daughter talked to him on Google Meets Friday evening and after that no more contact from him.

So he is waiting for a post mortem he has been there a week now, we live 5 hours away but are here at the moment and due to go back home today. Post mortem is 90% chance of being done today.

What will happen about registering the death when the post mortem has been done if I am not in the area?

He died without a will he was 53. He told my daughters last year when we visited that the house was theirs and he had put it in their names, he bought it outright. Is this something that can be done I didn’t think it could but that is what he said and kept saying it was their house.

I will be ringing the solicitors today to ask.

My daughters are his NOK only one is 18, one is 18 in July and the other is nearly 15.

When should I contact a funeral director as we want his body bought down to where we live so he is never on his own again and my girls want to be able to visit his grave.

I will need a Solicitor to deal with probate should that be one here where he lived or where we live?

I will be paying for his funeral until probate is done.

Thanks in advance for any replies. I know there are a lot of questions.

OP you also need to notify his house insurance that the house will be empty now x

Also OP, most banks will unfreeze an account to pay funeral expenses.

It is sad to hear your are having to deal with this, especially with your daughters so young and what sounds like an uncooperative family.

There as lots of reliable information on the Citizens Advice website, including what happens when a Coroner is involved.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-after-a-death/

As said above, it can’t be “executor” and “probate” as there is no will, it’s officially an administrator and letters of administration.

Your younger daughters can’t actually receive an inheritance until they turn 18, so you might need some proper legal advice on the best thing to do in the meantime with their share. Best wishes to you all.

There's a Which book on handling death and wills, which also covers what to do when someone dies intestate (without a will), plus the differences between Scotland and England/Wales.

Thank you

He was on Universal credit and didn’t have any money his payment last week went in and that was all he had I rang and told them he had died so hopefully he won’t get any more as it will need to be paid back.

we found out he died of a ruptured berry aneurysm which is a filled sack like a berry and it burst and the blood (I assume) went into his brain.

Trying to sort out death certificate today and funeral directors.

@Indespair666 I hope you are able to cope with his very complex situation for you and your daughters. It sounds like a huge shock and will likely take a long time to come to terms with.

If his DM / family are demanding or difficult always support your DD wishes.

I would add that even if you need some legal advice and help for some of this, OP, I would suggest getting that as and when that need arises, rather than putting probate in the hands of a solicitor. They're capable of being enormously slow and it's a pain wresting the process back from them if you get fed up with the glacial pace of progress.

IME it works better if a sensible beneficiary is in charge (in your case DD1, and, of course, you can support and reassure her).

The coroner will guide you.

This happened to us recently.

The body was held by the coroner until the results of the post mortem. This was because the deceased had not seen a doctor within ?30 days and died unexpectedly and alone.
We were not allowed into the house until this was finalised.

Once finalised we met with the coroner and were given a death certificate. We then instructed a funeral director who collect the body.

No will. So we applied to be the executor of the estate on government website. Once this was approved we could get access to funds for the funeral from bank accounts.

We had to go through paperwork at the house to establish deeds, savings, bank accounts. It unfolded gradually, hopefully we discovered everything.

Everyone was very helpful and actually, apart from the grief, it was quite a straightforward procedure.

Sorry for your loss.