Can They Do This Without Me Knowing

[Pookiebear8401]

My dad passed away. My aunt contacted me telling he did not have a will but he has money in his bank account that he wanted me to have. She told me because i am the next of kin that I have to handle his estate and that I had to call the probate office. What ever I needed she had and would give me just to let her know( bank statement, ssn,death certificate, etc) I let her know what the probate office needed me to give them to start the process and she told me she’d get it to me but have not heard nothing back yet. Don’t know if she’s not giving it to me because she’s trying to get his assets herself. If that is what she is trying to do can she do it without me knowing or would I have to sign off on it for her to be able to go through with it. Basically I need to know if she can overstep me and do it without my knowledge

[Buenchico]

There's a strict 'pecking order' of who is entitled to apply for the grant of representation (called 'Letters of Administration', rather than 'Probate', when there's no will). Assuming that your father didn't leave a spouse or civil partner, you (along with any siblings you may have) have the prior right to do so, ahead of your aunt:
https://www.fridaysmove.com/articles/applying-letters-administration-15184

Your aunt can't obtain Letters of Administration herself unless you formally renounce that prior right.

[jourdain2]

You need Barmaid on this, really. You are the next of kin so should take priority. How long is it since you heard nothing? Legal things can take ages.

[JimF]

Also, be aware that next of kin has no legal significance in the UK:
https://www.funeralguide.co.uk/help-resources/when-someone-dies/next-of-kin-all-you-need-to-know

[Buenchico]

^^^ I fully agree that the term 'next of kin' has no legal definition (or certainly not a universal one anyway) and its use can often lead to confusion in questions relating to law.

However the 'pecking order' I've referred to above is laid down by law (Section 22 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987) and most definitely applies here.

[Spicerack]

I know nothing about the legal side of things. But why would your aunt contact you and offer to help you if she had any intention of 'robbing' you?
A lot of these things take time, effort and sometimes money to sort out. You'll have to be patient if you can't/don't want to get more involved.

[Coppit]

My old pal who had no relatives, living out his final couple of years in a Council home died recently but no will was found in his room. I had known him for nearly 70 years as an obsessive keeper of lists, bills, notes of all kinds and so on. He had asked me which items of his I'd like and noted them down,
When he died, no will was found, but I suspect that the Council wanted him and his problems out of their hair as quickly as possible and either made no effort to find one - or something worse.

[fiction-factory]

Yes, just shows Coppit that it's always a good idea to leave copies of the will with one or two trusted friends/family

[douglas9401]

Have you tried contacting your aunt in any way at all?

[Theland]

Sadly experienced this.
My wife was duped out of money by her sister when their Dad died.
I got on to it, gathered evidence and confronted her.
Only a small amount, £1600, but it was the principle.
My wife got £800 back and then we let it go.
Her sister has to live with it, we, by forgiving, don't.