Finding a vicar or priest

[Sloe Gin]

I recall a will has been mentioned but not found because presumably there was no need to publish details but I had forgotten.

Yes, I was named executor of a will where the estate fell well within the probate limit: there were no investments or property, just a little money in the bank and pension payments coming in.  There was enough to pay for the funeral and only a couple of hundred pounds over.  But I was astonished that there was no need for any public record of this.  No probate, no record.

[heywood]

I am sorry I keep labouring this but does this mean that the lady must have appointed the solicitor as executor with the financial implications of that - their fees.

[Sloe Gin]

I am sorry I keep labouring this but does this mean that the lady must have appointed the solicitor as executor with the financial implications of that - their fees.

Not necessarily.  She may have named someone else as executor who passed on the duty to a solicitor.  I did this with another will in which I was named as sole executor.  It was more complicated and I didn't feel competent to deal with it, so I got a solicitor to do it.

It does sound as though the most likely explanation is that this lady ended up in care. 

[mazi]

I am sorry I keep labouring this but does this mean that the lady must have appointed the solicitor as executor with the financial implications of that - their fees.

The solicitor most likely suggested himself as executor when he drew up the will, which could have been a few years ago.

Given that we now know the lady was probably living in sheltered accommodation ( if the address was known by any family member it should be possible to find out what type of accommodation it was)
then it seems possible that the funeral arrangements were made and possibly paid for, by the local authority.


My understanding is that you own the memorial in a churchyard, but never the plot, unlike a cemetery

The church has a lot of rules since 2007 regarding memorial stones, additions can only be made by applying for a faculty, at a cost, replacement must be in line with health and safety, and more, all at a cost, and there may not be funds available.

Hard though it is for the bereaved the problem  is that everybody involved, social services, the funeral director, the solicitor and the vicar are just doing their job and have no personal knowledge of the lady and have no reason to hunt through old records, and may be governed by rules of client confidentiality


Mike

[Rhododendron]

Mike is absolutely right in his last paragraph.    Sadly, if a family have not kept in touch for whatever reason then you might reasonably suggest they should let things lie.  (No offence intended btw).

[Lisajb]

I need to check with my mother the date of that last letter. Mum and her sister certainly did keep in touch, and then everything stopped from one side, mum had sent cards and letters, they weren’t returned to her but no replies received.

When I spoke to the mason he didn’t seem to think there would be much of a problem with someone taking over ownership of the grave plot/lease, but the current incumbent of the church seems to think the owner would be the solicitor/executor, and they would have to give permission.

[Jool]

One last thought, have you considered that she may have spent her last years in residential care, maybe the local authority social services will have a record if this is the case.


Mike

We hadn’t thought of this, good point - when she last wrote to my mother she was living in a flat rented from the local council.

Lisa, her residence when she died should be on her death certificate (as well as the place she actually passed away - hospital). Is this the same address as the flat she lived in when your mother was writing to her?