My Neighbour's Partner Just Died... Help!

[VenalWinfrey]

Be most grateful if someone could help me with this. Will try to keep it brief!

Yesterday my good friend and neighbour died. She was 88. I'm currently helping her husband to cope with the next few weeks. He is also in his 80s.

Here's my question: the couple were not married, but had been together for roughly 38 years. The spouse now needs to notify a number of companies (e.g. insurance, banks etc.) but is not good with paperwork, and is unsure how she left things. He does not believe she had written a will.

I was wondering if there was a company/service he could use, on receipt of the death certificate, that would help him to identify her various accounts, in order that he might transfer things over to himself?

For instance, I believe she had a safety deposit box at Harrods where she kept her jewellery. She also had at least one Post Office account. All these things, he is either unaware of himself, or would not know how to go about notifying them, and (presumably) transferring the contents over to himself.

Does anyone know of any assistance available for these kinds of things?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, good or bad!!

[murraymints]

No family ? Their solicitor if no family or maybe age concern.

[EcclesCake]

If their is no will I'll assume their is not solicitor who could have helped (at a cost) in this scenario.

If there is no will then he cannot have his partners assets transferred to him.

He needs to seek legal advice.

Who owns the property they shared?

[EcclesCake]

^^^ apologies I do know the difference between their and there....

[Buenchico]

Banks (and others) won't accept a death certificate from anyone other than a relative as proof of a right to access the funds they hold. With a very small estate they might accept a death certificate from a relative but they'll usually require a grant of administration issued by a Probate Registry. (That's either probate or, where there's no will, letters of administration).

Further, since the couple weren't married, the gentleman has no automatic right to his partner's assets. In the absence of a will, the laws of intestacy apply, as illustrated in this flow chart (where 'you' refers to the deceased lady):
http://www.tollers.co.uk/system/docs/178/original/Rules%20of%20Intestacy%20Flowchart.pdf
The man also has no right to apply for a grant of probate.

As things stand, the man has no right to receive anything from his partner's estate. Only relatives (as shown in the flow chart) or, in the absence of such relatives, the Crown can benefit. However if your neighbour believes that the intestacy rules will deprive him of 'reasonable financial provision' from his partner's estate, Section 1(a) of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows him to seek a court order varying those provisions:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63

So it looks very much as if he'll need a solicitor.

Chris