My Brother Was Next Of Kin For Our Brother He Suffers From Health Issues Our Brother Died Suddenly

[cosh28]

When the police were informing my brother of his death he is in a care home his wife was there the police gave her my brothers house keys without asking if there was a member of the family to attend to his funeral his home possesions valuables family photographs and keepsakes she had my phone no instead she got her friends to take everything my brother owned including private documents and bank cards passport driving licence credit card i only found out his home was cleared when i contacted his housing dept to report his death when i asked where his property was she told me it had been sold i asked about his personal and family effects photos docomunts etc she told me she got rid of them this woman is a alcaholic and has been seperated from my brother in the care home for 3years she was in the right place at the right time should the police have not made enquires into her credability being only connected through marriage

[Tilly2]

This is very muddled. I can't make out what's happened. Has the brother, who was in a care home, died? Or is it the other brother, the next of kin?

[Old_Geezer]

I'm not knowledgeable about the legal position, but it's not unknown for one family member to have sorted things the way they wanted before others have a chance to affect what happens.

[Old_Geezer]

Sorry. Effect.

[bhg481]

OG - you were right first time.

[bhg481]

This is a very difficult post to understand because of the lack of punctuation and the ambiguous use of pronouns.
I read it that the brother who died was in a care home. He was separated from his wife and all his possessions were given to his wife, who happens to be an alcoholic. If that is the case the possessions were given to the right person.

[fiction-factory]

Was there a will? If not and she was still his wife then I think she was probably entitled to everything. If there was a will you may struggle to find it bt if you do you would find out if you should have been left anything

[fiction-factory]

I am not sure which brother is which though her- whether the one with health issues is the one who died or the other one- but I doubt it matters

[EDDIE51]

^^ Yes this is almost impossible to understand fully due to the lack of any punctuation.
I have reported an answer on cosh28's other post on this subject as it was an advert.
But yes, it also seems to me that the deceased possessions have been passed on to his wife which is correct.
cosh28, sorry, but even though he was separated from his wife she is still his wife and under law is his next of kin.
The law is that when a married person dies everything they own is passed on to their wife/husband. This applies even if they were separated. A marriage still exists unless the couple divorce.
Please try to clarify the information, but use sentences and full stops. I am still not sure I have correctly understood this complicated question.

[Tilly2]

If he was in a care home, how did he still have a house?

[EDDIE51]

Tilly, they don't just take your house when you move into a care home.They may put a 'charge' on it that has to be paid when the house is sold. In this case the question is so confused that it may be that the person was put into a residential hospital unit due to mental health issues rather than an old peoples home. It that case he would be cared for under the NHS and no charge made.

[jackthehat]

Brother A is in a care-home and is separated from his alcoholic wife.
When Brother B dies, the police give his house-keys to the Alcoholic wife on the grounds that she is wife of NoK who is unwell in vare home.
As she is unsupervised and has access to all Brother A's goods and chattels and has disposed of them as she wishes.
Cosh 28 wants to know if the Police made sufficient enquiries as to whom was entitled to receive the keys given that she is only related by marriage and not by blood.

[bhg481]

Tilly - lots of ways eg, you live alone in a house you own, you are taken ill and have to go into care. You still own the home; if it's short-term care following an operation you expect to return eventually etc.

[bhg481]

Jack - that scenario also fits the very vague OP. In that case the goods etc were not handed to the right person.

[jackthehat]

Brother B didn't own a house, Brother C (cosh28) rang the Housing department to inform them of his death which is when he found out the wife of Brother A had emptied the property.

[jackthehat]

It's all there if you take time to read the post properly.

[EDDIE51]

ED, is it possible to put these 3 posts from cosh28 into one and in the correct category? It is very confusing at the moment.

[EDDIE51]

If he was still married then separated or not, his wife gets everything.
If that is the case then the correct action has been taken.
I can see the problem, but the fact that the wife is an alcoholic has no bearing on the legal position. She should not have sold items that did not belong to her husband but if she has I can't see a way of getting them back or getting the cash she got from the sale.

[Tilly2]

So, it wasn't the brother in the care home who had a house. It was the other brother. I get that now.

[jackthehat]

Wrong, Eddie.
She was the deceased brother's sister-in-law.

[Zacs-Master]

Was it legal for the care home worker to guide her brother's hand for the signature and then be the witness?