rights of access to deceased property

[madbag]

Eight weeks ago my mothers partner stabbed her to death at the home they owned. Once the police had finished using the house as a crime scene, they handed all the keys to the property including those belonging to my mother, back to the offender, as they say he is the sole living proprietor.
I have requested access to look for my mother's Will, from the offender who is currently held in custody. His solicitor says that he refuses.
I am next of kin but do not know who has been appointed executor in my mothers will until I get access to look for it. I am also unable to arrange a funeral until I know if my mother had any wishes to be carried out.

What are my rights in this situation and how do i go about gaining access?

I have sought legal advice and have been waiting for weeks for somebody to come up with an answer. The coroner says it forms part of the criminal matterand the police should deal with it, the police say it is a civil matter.

[bednobs]

i'm so sorry this is happening to you. Have you tried local solicitors, to see if a will is lodged there?

[tigerlelly]

Surely if this man murdered your mother he cannot inherit any of her property anyway? Is he part owner of the house as that might make a difference. Why don't you place an advert in the local paper asking if anyone knows the whereabouts of your mother's will. Did your mum have a close friend who might know?
Hope it all works out for you.

[dzug2]

A difficult situation, unfortunately.

It's by no means clear that you are next of kin, which has no precise legal meaning in itself - it could well be her partner who - as yet - is guilty of nothing. It may well be you have to wait for his trial and conviction before you can do anything.

Seeing if a local solicitor has the will is maybe the best short term action you can take. Depending on what's in it it might not help anyway.

Have you actually taken legal advice from a solicitor? Or just the coroner/police? That may be another step.

I don't think you are going to solve this in the short term - unless the partner has a change of heart.

[themas]

This is very much a long shot, but you could get a copy of the house title deeds from the online land registry. This will show you who the actual owner(s) is/are. (I very much doubt whether the police checked this before giving the partner the keys.)

If the house is in the partner's sole name then I don't think there is anything you can do about getting access. If it is in joint names as joint tenants the same probably applies, because the survivor of joint tenants automatically inherits the deceased's share.

But if it is in joint names as tenants in common then your mother's share will be disposed of in accordance with her will or - if she did not make one - under intestacy rules. You would then have an argument that the partner may well not be the sole living proprietor & it should be possible to bring some pressure to bear on the partner (through his solicitor?) to release the keys. Alternatively, you could take legal advice on whether - if he still refused - you would be justified in forcing entry.