Acquaintance named me next of kin; died intestate.

[oopslateagain]

An elderly chap "Alan" I have known for a few years died this week. We weren't particularly close friends, I looked after his cat when he was on holiday and I've given him a lift to the hospital when he couldn't get a taxi. Our social interactions were limited to saying hello if I saw him on the street, and texts about his holiday dates when he needed me to cat-sit. He was taken ill a few weeks ago and has been in hospital, so I've been at his flat every day to feed/care for his cat. It was a complete surprise when the hospital called over the weekend saying that as I was next of kin (!) they were notifying me that he was deteriorating and would keep me updated. I've since discovered that he also notified his assisted living facility that I was both next of kin and his emergency contact. He passed away on Monday.

The assisted living facility manager "Mandy" assumed that I was fully aware that Alan had nominated me as next of kin, and also thought that it was likely I was named as executor on his will. We looked (briefly) for a will but couldn't find one. We did however find an insurance policy to cover funeral costs. As the hospital already had me listed as his contact, I spoke to the hospital bereavement service and they have made an appointment for me to register the death next week. I've also spoken to the insurance regarding the funeral, they have put me in touch with the funeral director who will be dealing with it. Mandy is assuming that I will be the person dealing with everything from this point forward, though I did say several times that I'm not actually family and that we need to find his will.

I discovered from his neighbour that he used a will writing company a couple of months ago. I have contacted them, and the will has only just been prepared, it has not yet been sent to him and has not been signed or witnessed, so it's not valid. But they did tell me that I was, indeed, named as executor along with my husband.

I'm not sure where this leaves me, both legally and morally. He has absolutely no family. He lived alone. It's quite possible he died intestate. I'm intending to go to his flat tomorrow and do a proper search to see if I can find an older will, but it's quite possible it doesn't exist. And (legally) is it even ok for me to search his flat?

If there is no will, I don't know if I can do anything at all. Can I still be the one to register the death? Who arranges the funeral - the policy is paid up so the funeral plan is active and will cover the funeral costs.

I have taken his cat home with me as there was nobody else who wanted her, she's settled in nicely with my other cats so that's one problem solved.

I'm not sure what my next steps should be. Any advice at all would be very helpful.

You don’t have to clear his flat. I’m going to assume it’s a housing association or similar due to assisted living. They can get clearance in to do it. They will charge to rent account. As there are no assets it will be written off.

Personally I’d just focus on the cars if you want to and recovering any sentimental items and photos.

Then it’s down to Mandy.

Are you sure you weren't appointed deputy? NOK really isn't a legal term in the UK. The link by @vdbfamily is quite useful.

Oh and the paperwork for notice and sending it to public trustee (depending on tenancy type) etc is a pain and prob why Mandy is keen you are seen to be taking over. However it’s literally her job. Or that of others in her organisation.
It’s an assisted living place. People die. They will have policies on dealing with it.

I think he's taken advantage of you massively. He's left you with the cat, all the hassle, a lot of work, not even a tiny gift. Absolute cheek.

Laws without a will

Article about who can inherit when there’s not a will. I wouldn’t touch anything as the estate is not legally yours and relatives could accuse you of stealing things. The unsigned will may be a will of intent, but is not a legal Will so is effectively irrelevant.

The assisted living people will have a procedure for people who had no relatives. They should be dealing with his home and the admin side. Also there may be an earlier will registered - there is a national register of wills.

I would suggest you don’t let Mandy push you into dealing with the admin stuff - it could be very complicated and is absolutely not your responsibility. You’re doing enough by taking on the cat & perhaps attending his funeral if you want to.

There is no will, but there is an estate. The OP could, in theory, be appointed to administer the estate under letters of administration/grant of representation - link. This gives similar powers to those of an executor.

The NOK status is relevant here, as it would give her a claim to be appointed if she wanted to be. But I would strongly advise her not to do so.

Thanks everyone, that's all been incredibly helpful.

I think I was feeling a bit guilty because he obviously wanted me to do everything, but @MissLucyEyelesbarrow is right, it's not my job to do it.

I will keep the appointment to register the death. I'll give the death certificate to Mandy, tell her that his most current will was never signed so isn't valid, and give her all the information I have so far.

Would it be appropriate to hand over the funeral arrangements to Mandy too? I have no idea what his wishes were as far as that goes, the funeral company said his 'plan' included cremation but that's about as detailed as it got. He had many local friends who would want to attend his funeral, if she lets me know when and where it is, I could pass on the details to them.

I honestly don't want to deal with any of this if I don't have to.

Yes, the court needing to appoint an estate administrator that could be her if no blood relatives exist is exactly what I posted, but then you posted this
you can be appointed to administer the will if the person dies intestate

That is what I was correcting. When a person dies intestate, there is no will to administer. Glad to see you admit your error/typo and meant ‘estate’ not ‘will,’

Would it be appropriate to hand over the funeral arrangements to Mandy too?. Yes. You can do. You are under no obligation to do any of this.

To be fair though, he may not have understood the implications of nominating you OP, or how complicated it could be. He clearly thought well of you.

I don’t suppose he’d have meant to cause you any trouble. He may have been thinking more of what would happen to the cat rather than who’d have to deal with the legal stuff.

I think you should probably get Mandy to register the death - it’s really not your responsibility.

if he died intestate be careful. He may have named you next of kin, but in law you won’t be if a blood relationship exists elsewhere even if he said he had no family. It’s possible there is an estranged relationship and maybe even with someone who didn’t want to be estranged. Clearly, he was someone who struggled with meaningful relationships to announce you as next of kin without ever having that conversation with you.

do not enter his house or deal with any of his possessions. I think it’s fine and good of youto throw out perishables , but take pictures as evidence of what you did or do it with “Mandy” . Do not remove anything else no matter how awful it seems. . Similarly you are looking after his cats, but strictly they don’t belong to you legally , even though it’s unlikely anyone will try to remove them.

if he has a pre paid funeral plan that’s very good. You do not need to step in to do anything , leave it with the normal state processes to deal with the situation.

mandy needs to take this forward, and raise with local authority so state steps in. Really this could send you are a very long path that costs you money and a lot of time in admin you’ll never get back from an intestate estate . Alan won’t appreciate you doing it as he’s now dead. You are taking on something out of a misguided sense of duty or guilt. Just because he named you next of kin, does not mean you are. If he really wanted to ensure his wishes were met he’d have got the bloody will sorted properly, and even had a LPOA in place when he couldn’t express his own wishes any more. He could have then, with your consent and agreement made you an attorney and an executor.

off course, if you are able it would be good for you to attend the funeral, but be careful as Mandy or her bosses may be there and all too ready to dump onto you. Remember anyone who shows a little bit of willing saves them money and time. That’s what it comes down to and if they can get out of having to do anything they will. Not unreasonably I might add.

I don’t believe you can register the death, op, there are rules about who can be an informant and that doesn’t include a person whose not a relative who was named randomly as next of kin, unless you witnessed the death
https://www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/registering-a-death-and-informing-others/who-can-register-a-death/
interestingly it also says person making arrangements for funeral- but you shouldn’t be taking this on and don’t need to if it’s with funeral directors anyway

And here’s what local authority should be doing
https://proceduresonline.com/trixcms2/media/11551/death-of-a-client-without-next-of-kin.pdf

She can register the death, that list are people who have a legal obligation to register the death within 5 days and would be fined if not done.

If she doesn’t want to register the death, then she doesn’t have to unless she decides to arrange the funeral.

Please be careful. Do not order anything or you will be billed!
Pass everything to Mandy.. thant is her job.
Look after yourself first.

First thing to check is with the company that was writing his Will. One of the first quest they would have asked was if he had an existing Will, as this would need/should to be surrendered. If so they may have asked for a copy.

Yes, I'm absolutely sure. I turned down being a deputy, but that was after I was appointed NOK.

I mean, I've got a certificate from the judge, I'm fairly certain she knew what she was doing 😆

I’ve just skimmed the thread OP, but does the hospital or local authority have a bereavement co-ordinator? We have them at our hospital and they do a great job of unpicking situations like this.

@ReleasetheCrackHen I've looked at the "registering a death" info and I don't think I can do it - I need info I simply don't have, such as his last occupation and details of pensions. I'll phone the hospital bereavement service and see if they can advise me (they're the ones who made the appointment with the registry office)

@BriceNobeslovesMurielHeslop crossposted with you! Yes, they are the ones I spoke to originally, I'll ring them on Monday - I assume they're closed over the weekend.

Op has been gifted a treasure. That dcat was the most important thing he owned I suspect..

No, she should butt out. Not her responsibility, intestate wills or older wills are a nightmare. Why would she get sucked into that.

Sounds like you have been lumped with dealing with all the shot without getting anything in return.

I would feel a bit pissed off is someone I barely knew made me the one who has to deal with their affairs. What if there isn't enough for his funeral are you liable? Also what if you arebjust being used a s a free cleaner.