OP here. Yes, I am both the sole executor and the sole beneficiary of
the estate.
All of the deceased's personal possessions have been retained by the
girlfriend/partner at her house. I am simply being denied access to
them. She has made it clear that "his" possessions are "their"
possessions, even though I am quite familiar with many of the items as
having been accumulated by the deceased long before their relationship
began. I've managed to create a reasonably accurate list of these
items for the purpose of valuation for Probate, and I've advised my
solicitor that these items cannot be retrieved. These personal
possessions consist of items that I'm not prepared to mount a leagl
battle over, and they can remain with her. I am in the process,
however, of retrieving external assets, such as bank accounts and
insurance death benefits. These items were strictly in his name only,
and the insurance benefit is payable in accordance with the Will (i.e.
to me).
I am certainly not going to formally ask her to let me have a list of
things she believes she is entitled to. This would be creating the
impression that she in fact is entitled to a portion of the estate.
If she wants to make a formal claim, then I'll deal with that when it
comes. |