Looking for advice regarding possible death of SF

[Rissolesfortea]

First of apologies that this may be long.

My parents divorced many years ago and both remarried, they have both since died. Before my DM died I was told that her and her H (my SF) had made a joint will and I was named as an executor along with the S of my SF, he also had a D who never got along with my DM.

A few years ago I moved to another part of the country and we mainly lost touch, just a card at Christmas sort of thing. Recently things have happened that leads me to believe my SF has died although I have had no notification of this. It could be possible that since my DM died my SF has made another will excluding me from being an executor which doesn't really bother me.

The problem I have is that I believe my Ss has now taken over the house. I have no desire to have any financial gain on the house etc but there would be photos of my DM and her jewellery etc that I would have liked as a keepsake (I only have one photo of my DM), there were also photos of my DC when they were small.

My Ss has always been very money orientated and I believe that she has deliberately kept the news of my SFs death from me so that she can dispose of my DM's things and possibly keep or sell her jewellery.

Is there any way I would still have a claim to my DM's possessions? TIA

Thank you for replying babybarrister. They made a joint will, is it possible that SF could have made another one after my DMs death which cancelled out her requests? Also, could you tell me how I would be able to get to see the wills? Thanks.

If you're not sure he has died you could ask to see his death certificate at a births/deaths/marriages registry office.

Thanks for replying Strawberry.

I have looked into obtaining a copy of the death certificate but I would need the date of death which I dont know. I have, however, applied for copies of any wills made by my DM and SF if any exist, with an approximate date of death for SF so hopefully that will shed some light.

I am getting increasingly angry with SS as it is now obvious she has made every effort to withhold information of my SFs death and I can only assume this is for her own advantage.

There's a site - sorry, can't remember the name where you can look up death etc announcements that have appeared in newspapers. That might help.

Alternatively, you could ring around the local undertakers, to see if your sf has died, and they would be able to tell you when.

If you are in England tn there is no such thing as a "joint" will. Your DM and SF may have made mirror wills or mutual wills. Mirror wills are where two people effectively make the same will but with just the names changed, usually married couples who leave everything to each other on first death and then to children on second death. These are still two separate wills though and can be changed at any time.
Mutual wills are somewhat different and once made cannot be undone or revoked. So once one person dies even if the other then remarries or changes their mind the original mutual will still stands. They are very inflexible and not generally recommended by solicitors these days.

If you know where your SF was living at the date of death then you can pay for a search for his death certificate at the local registry. You will have to give some parameters but it sounds like the death was quite recent so you should be able to provide a suitable timeframe eg the last 3 years. The website of the local council to where he lived would be the place to start.

To get copies of the wills and grants you need to complete form PA1S
hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/pa001s-eng.pdf if you haven't already done so.

Hope this helps.

Thank you poshfrock. I have applied for copies of original will and any further wills made by SF. Will check on local registry site tomorrow. Thanks for your help all.