We were approached by a lady named Tessa, who found us on Google and got in contact with us to see if we could assist.
She was one of the next-of-kin of her cousin Tom, a single man who had recently passed away without leaving a will. Being related on his mother’s side, she knew some of the picture already. She conducted her own research but needed validation and further investigation to ensure that all beneficiaries were contacted. His assets needed to be sold and realised, including a property in Outer London.
Tom was an only child with no family of his own. Therefore, his estate would need to be divided between aunts, living cousins, and the children of a deceased cousin in accordance with the not terribly straightforward Non-Contentious Probate Rules (1987). Although these are very logical, there are many common missteps we have seen this these Rules, which we will outline in another post.
Tessa was very grateful for our help in completing the family tree and asking pertinent questions about the estate. Our services also included an asset search not only for Tom but also for his recently deceased parents. We were able to bring together these services under one umbrella, including verifying the identity of family members and ensuring there were no loose ends in the family tree.
Altogether the process took well under a year, and the cousin was able to sign off on the project.
