Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Intestate Fraud - who is policing this system/can anyone advise

9 replies

SatsumaZoom · 12/02/2026 18:14

Hi, so I have a question, with an intestate will, who checks the administrator has declared things honestly? Are there any checks in place? I am pretty sure the person I am thinking of is going to lie and keep all the money but I don't have the funds to take him to court to find out. Does anyone police this system or without money behind me am I basically screwed. Any legal advice welcome , I understand how intestate wills work, but on the subject of fraud as of yet I am drawing a blank.

OP posts:
Hedgehogforshort · 12/02/2026 19:14

Intestate means a person dies without a valid will it is not clear wether the deceased had a will or not. So difficult to answer

SatsumaZoom · 12/02/2026 22:16

They did not which is why it has gone to Intestate.

OP posts:
Hedgehogforshort · 12/02/2026 22:19

So you our any other relative can apply to be the administrator of the estate. Has this happened?

SatsumaZoom · 13/02/2026 07:07

Yes. My step father has got administrative powers. But he and I do not speak. He lives a long way away from me and is very clever. I think he has been squirrelling my mum's money away for years, and if there is anything left that would have come to me I don't think he will declare it..I can't afford a lawyer or to go to court to find out.

OP posts:
Shittyyear2025 · 13/02/2026 07:39

There are really strict rules about who inherits what if someone dies without a will.

The value of the estate will need to be recorded (this is a public record, so you can see it, eventually).

The husband gets the first £322k, all personal items and half of anything left. Whatever has transacted before death is irrelevant now, was this such a concern before?

Worth bearing in mind that home ownership might be excluded from the calculations depending on how ownership was established. Unless the estate was huge you might be in for a battle to get anything.

Another2Cats · 13/02/2026 08:09

OK, so for your stepfather to have been granted Letters of Administration means that he must have been married to your mum (an unmarried partner cannot do this).

I assume that this is in England or Wales (the rules are slightly different in Scotland).

Not everything that your mum owned will automatically come under the Intestacy rules.

Most homes are owned by a couple as "joint tenants". This is where you both jointly own the whole house (just like a joint bank account). So, when one of you passes away the house automatically goes to the surviving spouse.

If you own the house as joint tenants then the house automatically passes to the surviving spouse regardless of what any will or the intestacy rules might say.

Likewise, if any money or shares etc are in a joint bank account then that will automatically pass to the survivor without going through the Intestacy rules.

The other way to own a home is as "tenants in common". In this situation you each own a separate 50% of the home and you can leave your own 50% to whoever you like. In this situation it is usual for each spouse to leave their 50% to their children (but you can leave it to whoever you like).

A person's largest asset is usually their home so you will need to find out who owned the home and how it was owned.

You can do this by applying to the Land Registry for a copy of the title register of your mum's home here which costs £7:

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

If it is just in your mum's name then she owns the whole house herself and it is part of her estate for the intestacy rules.

If it is in both their names then you need to check if the house is owned as joint tenants or tenants in common.

If you read the title and there is a restriction that reads something like this:

"No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court."

Then that shows that they were tenants in common. What this means is that her 50% share of the house is part of her estate which will be distributed according to the Intestacy rules.

If there is no wording like that, then that means they were joint tenants.

If they were joint tenants then the whole house goes to your stepfather regardless of the intestacy rules.

In the same way, if she had bank accounts in her own name then they would be part of her estate but any joint accounts would automatically go to your stepfather.
.

So, assuming that the house was in your mum's name only or they were tenants in common and/or that she had bank accounts in her own name you then need to go on and look at the Intestacy rules.

The current rules say that the first £322,000 (plus all personal belongings etc) goes to the surviving spouse.

Anything above that amount is split 50/50 between the spouse and the children of the deceased.

Some examples.

1 Your mum owns the house and it is worth £300,000. She also has £20,000 in a bank account in her own name.

In this case, the total value of the estate is worth less than £322,000 so everything goes to your stepfather.
.

2 Your mum owns the house and it is worth £500,000. She also has £22,000 in a bank account in her own name.

In this case, her total estate is worth £522,000. Your stepfather gets the first £322,000 which leaves £200,000. This £200k is then split 50/50 between the spouse and the children. So £100k goes to the spouse and the remaining £100k is divided equally between any children.

So, in this situation your stepfather would get £422k and you would split £100k with any siblings you have who are children of your mum (so if she had children with your stepfather then they would also get a share of the £100k).

Search for land and property information

Find a property and get its title plan, title register and see who owns it

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Another2Cats · 13/02/2026 08:20

Hedgehogforshort · 12/02/2026 22:19

So you our any other relative can apply to be the administrator of the estate. Has this happened?

That's not quite right.

There is a specified order in which people can apply.

Surviving spouse
children (or grandchildren if a child has died)
parents
full siblings (or their children if they have already died)
half siblings (or their children if they have already died)
grandparents
full aunts and uncles (or their children if they have already died)
half aunts and uncles (or their children if they have already died)
.

It starts with the surviving spouse. Only if they decline to act as Administrator will it go to the next level (ie the children).

The person who actually applies to be Administrator doesn't have to actually do the work though, they can get anyone to do the work for them.

prh47bridge · 13/02/2026 08:40

The answer to the question in your OP is that no-one polices it. If you think you are being deprived of your inheritance, it is up to you to take action. However, as @Another2Cats explains, if your mother and stepfather were still married at the time of death there is a good chance you won't inherit anything.

SatsumaZoom · 13/02/2026 08:50

Thanks everyone. They were still married. I just don't trust him to be honest in the administration process. I can imagine him not declaring things like savings or investments in her name. You are all probably right though there is probably nothing and I don't have the funds to investigate so will have to just let it go. Thanks for all the detail everyone though I really appreciate it.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page