The Cambridge City Council has informed Glen Hutchinson’s daughters that they cannot enter their father’s flat until they go through the probate process, leaving the family anxious about potentially losing his life’s work due to bureaucratic hurdles.

Glen Hutchinson, a performance poet, was found dead in his home in August. Even though his daughters have a key to the flat, they are unable to access it because the council mandates the probate to be finalized, which could take as long as 16 weeks. Without the necessary documentation, the council has warned that the flat will be cleared within a month.

“My sister and I have a key, but the door is boarded up now,” Ailsa Mackenzie, his daughter, explained. “We need to get in to collect bank statements and utility bills to close his accounts and inform the necessary authorities, but we’re locked out. Our father relied on benefits, and his estate comprises mostly personal items that are incredibly meaningful to us, though they might not seem valuable to anyone else.”

Mackenzie and her sister have presented their birth certificates and identification to establish their relationship as next of kin, yet the council has rejected these documents. They fear that Hutchinson’s poetry collection and personal photographs might be discarded by contractors before they ever get a chance to enter the flat. The council indicated that contents would be stored if the property is deemed “safe and sanitary.”

“My father suffered from PTSD and physical challenges, which made it hard for him to work and manage his home,” Mackenzie shared. “There was a specific order to his belongings that only those who knew him would comprehend. We’re desperate to locate his poetry archive and journals to preserve his legacy. To the workers clearing the flat, his cherished papers may look like random clutter, and I’m worried that the ‘safe and sanitary’ criteria will result in everything being thrown away.”

Mackenzie conveyed her frustration: “Even if his belongings are stored, there’s no way to guarantee we can find what we need once everything is piled together in a garage. We have pleaded for just an hour under council supervision to gather sentimental items before it’s too late, but our requests have gone unanswered.”

In response, a spokesperson for the Cambridge City Council stated that Hutchinson’s belongings would be securely stored until probate is awarded. They recognized that this is a difficult time for the family but insisted that, since Hutchinson did not leave a will or provide the council with contact information for his next of kin, a legal grant is essential before anyone can manage the estate. The spokesperson stressed that showing identification does not meet this legal requirement.

Ian Bond, a representative from the Law Society’s wills and equity committee, criticized the necessity of probate just to access the property. “Typically, local authorities allow those entitled to claim probate limited access to handle clearances and locate important documents,” he noted. “In this case, the local authority should acknowledge that the tenant was a long-term benefits recipient and likely did not possess significant assets warranting probate.”

Mackenzie believes her father would have prepared a will if he had grasped the complexities his family currently faces. “It’s disrespectful to our father and inhumane to us to have strangers sorting through his things and discarding them in a garage or dumpster,” she remarked. “This situation adds unnecessary anguish to an already incredibly difficult period.”

Last week, the probate office confirmed that the sisters’ application was officially approved. However, the Cambridge City Council has still denied the family access to the property until further notice. Following inquiries from the Guardian, the council agreed not to remove the contents of the flat while awaiting the probate certificate.