According to this recent BBC news article, Apple has refused a widower access to his wife’s iPhone, preventing him from having photographs and phone numbers that would be helpful for funeral arrangements. 

Mr Hall has decided to share his story to warn others of the risk and the article offers some practical advice to avoid such a situation arising – such as keeping records of passwords or saving photographs and telephone numbers elsewhere.

This is noteworthy from a legal perspective - the article suggests that there is an issue of privacy, presumably because the case crosses into the difficult issue of who owns someone’s data when they pass away. However, stepping towards the comparatively easier issue of non-data assets, the case also highlights a simpler point that is helpful to remember – it can be difficult to access a loved one’s assets when they pass away.

As a starting point, the executor or personal representative of the person who has passed away should be able to access all of their assets. An executor is somebody appointed by a will to deal with the person’s affairs and a personal representative is somebody who has applied to the Probate Registry for permission to deal with the person’s affairs where there is no will appointing an executor.

However, an organisation does not have to automatically grant an executor or personal representative access to the assets. They can first ask to see a grant of probate or a grant of representation. This is a formal document issued by the Probate Registry confirming who the executor or personal representative is. The problem is that receiving a grant of probate or a grant of representation can take a considerable amount of time (it is currently estimated that a grant should be issued within 16 weeks of applying).

Often, organisations are lenient when the asset they are dealing with is of minimal financial value, and they will be willing to pass the asset to the executor or personal representative to deal with as part of the estate without seeing a grant of probate or grant of representation, but every organisation will have its own rules.

It is not clear from the article in Mr Hall’s case on what basis Apple is refusing access to the phone – whether they are insisting on a grant of probate/grant of representation or whether there is another reason. However, the case does highlight that it is not always simple to access a loved one’s assets when they pass away and this is particularly important to remember in a world where more and more assets are held purely online and so are more difficult to access.

For further information about administering estates, please contact me.