My brother died on Monday. He was found dead in bed by his STBXW. They were living rather acrimoniously under the same roof. The Nisi had been granted, but the financials were still to be finalised, so no Absolute. I understand that according to law STBXW is still his next of kin. They had no children.
However, she has stated that due to the circumstances it would be best if we (my sister and I) sort out the funeral arrangements. I asked if I could have a look through my brother’s paperwork. She initially said yes, then reneged as “she is not in a comfortable position for this situation”. I said I understood and I’d leave it a few days.
The reason I want to look through my brothers things is because i asked him if he’d changed his will, due to the onset of the divorce and an inheritance he’d received from our late father’s estate since divorce proceedings were begun. He answered that he had. If I’m to arrange his funeral I need sight of it to ascertain what, if any, his final wishes are. The solicitor dealing with his divorce has said they do not have a copy. They advised I could go through a Will search company called Certainty for them to request whether solicitors local to my brother dealt with it. It seems a long shot but I’m prepared to pay for the service.
However, if his STBXW finds his recent will and destroys it, and Certainty don’t find it, what are the chances that I’d find ever find out where a copy is kept? We never discussed the contents of his new Will, but what if I’m an executor? And a million other things?
Has anyone else been through anything like this? If my brother logged his Will with anyone will it be easy to find?