Help needed

A question about : Help needed

Hello. Looking for advice

I got the knock on the door last night from the police to tell we that they had forced entry into my brothers house and found him deceased. He had been there some time. Coroners involved.

They tracked down contact numbers via passport. He lived by himself - he owns the house (I suspect mortgage arrears, and possibly other arrears too). Police said that the house was boarded up secure after they had left (? Who does that, is it the council - and can we just let ourselves back in?) suspect no will.
Am I right in thinking that leaning and clearing will be down to us? Will police have retained ID or is it normally left in the house?

He has a teenage daughter (from previous relationship), my Dad is NoK, and me.

How on earth do we proceed getting affairs in order? All new ground to me this. I have just been looking at redirecting the mail - need ID plus a death cert. nothing seems straightforward.
sorry for all the questions but I am at a loss as to where to begin.

Grateful for any help at all.

Best answers:

• Thank you. I was thinking if I could get some Info from in the house re: utilities/mortgage company etc, then I could at least inform them and freeze any situation getting worse. Or do you advise leaving to child's mother (bearing in mind I doubt that there will be any thing in the estate).
  Sorry for all the questions..
• Similar thing happened to me. Sorry for your loss.
  If you are in contact with his ex partner, then perhaps discuss who does what? We divided it up between us in terms of telling the various authorities, and wrote to creditors informing them there was no estate. No one chased us for payment.
  It could take a couple of weeks for a funeral date though, so for now just take it one day at a time
• Thank you. So police would advise on access arrangements. Surely someone has to sort things out, though?
• Yes the police will advise on access. But bear in mind that at present you have no legal authority to enter the property or deal with the estate until you know you have. Let the coroner do his job and then issue the authorisation to register the death.
  I agree that it is best to speak to his daughter's mother and agree what will done. If all the close relatives agree then the police are unlikely to object to you entering the property to find out if the estate is or is not insolvent.
  But if you know there is no Will then it is his daughter (and her mother) who need to sort out the estate as the daughter will inherit it all. If insolvent it is best that nobody gets involved. The largest creditor (mortgage provider?) will need to act. If he has left a Will, that decision falls to the executor. While this might be you, you do not have to accept this responsibility and would be unwise to do so if the estate is insolvent.
  If you do get involved remember that arranging a funeral is likely to commit you to paying for it. So if you are not sure there is money in the estate to pay for it do not arrange the funeral unless you are prepared to pay.
• My Dad will be paying for the funeral. Daughter is a minor.
• If no one gets involved, and the estate is insolvent, then do we just then (after notifying utilities/bank/mortgage) do nothing an wait for mortgage company to contact us?
• Was he married to the mother of his daughter? (This would be a factor in who is next of kin / to do sorting out etc.)
• No, never married, and not been together for a long time.
• I'm sorry for your loss.
  If there is no will, then his daughter will be entitled to anything which may be left of the estate once any debts are paid.
  Your dad would be able to get Letters of Administration, and the estate would have to be held on trust for her until she is an adult.
  If there is a delay while the Coroner carries out their enquiries you should be able to get a certificate from the Coroner (It isn't a death certificate, as that can't be granted until the Coroner has made their determination, but it records that he is dead, so can be used if you need proof)
  Do read the information about bankrupt estates before you do anything, to ensure that you aren't left liable for anything.
• All of this sounds really scary. Dad wouldn't be able to do it - does that mean it falls on me - or can I chose to not do anything?