Step daughter preventing me from seeing my dad

[Warrior13]

My dad has recently passed away and his step daughter is preventing me from seeing him one last time. I have been estranged from him, but that doesn’t mean I hated him, just his treatment towards me.

The funeral directors have advised me to seek legal assistance because they must respect her wishes, even though I have legal rights being his biological daughter.

I’m in the process of getting in touch with solicitors but family law sols and civil law sols do not get back to me, and are unsure who can help me.

I need legal advice in regards to which solicitors do I need to seek help from? Under which law does this fall under? Any advise and guidance will be appreciated because it’s tough during this time.

Thank you.

Strongly agree - particularly when they haven't even bothered to RTFT in which people who have they knowledge they don't have explained the position 😲

No, it won't. Estrangement doesn't displace the intestacy rules. That is why people need to make wills.

For your own sake, and those who were not estranged I would find another way to say goodbye. Everyone is grieving it is hard enough. As pp said funeral directors will know what is allowed.

I'm fascinated as to how OP knows her Dad doesn't have a will when she's been estranged from him for years...

Something about the will maybe.

Because the blood daughter was estranged for years, now wants to see a body (but didn't want to see the living person)
So yes, step-daughter more likely to know his wishes, has been in contact with him, and is probably, understandably, pissed off at person who turns up wanting to view a body.
@Warrior13 morally you have no right to demand this. Just go to the grave if your conscience is bothering you now

SIL used the name of a cousin so she could visit her estranged F at the undertakers. I think it was a sort of closure after a very rocky relationship and LC for decades. Is that what you're looking for? If he's asked for burial then a visit to his grave afterwards might be better. Are there any family members who will be attending his funeral who you could ask? Or even go with you to the undertakers?

It's not anything to be interested about. I have never called my mother's husband my step-father, nor his kids my step-sisters. As adults, we are not a blended family. So they are, and always will be referred to as my Mum's husband and her step-daughters.

If you did go to court, I'd imagine the judge would take a dim view of your father's stepdaughter preventing his natural daughter from visiting him. It's incredibly petty.

However, I think you would need to demonstrate that you had first asked her permission and been refused.

Also, I'm sorry for your loss, OP. I would imagine you had good reasons for not seeing your father in recent years, but that doesn't mean you would have no feelings about his death.

That’ll look good in the papers “estranged daughter insist on viewing fathers dead body”
People would think you’re bonkers!

I can’t believe some of the responses on here. The OP had refused to see her father when he was alive despite his requests, and now she wants to see his dead body! Let him rest in peace FFS. He’s not an ornament to look at.

I agree. I can understand why someone who has had a difficult relationship with a parent wouldn’t necessarily stop loving them. We hear so much about first families being pushed out when a parent moves on, who knows how the OP was treated.