u/Hagmiester

Hi All,

This is a bit of a long one so I will post a TL:DR at the bottom of it.

My partner lost her battle to cancer in April this year, we had been dating since May 2021. In June 2024 I moved into her house that she had bought in October 2020. In May 2025 she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, this was her second cancer diagnosis since we had been together. The first diagnosis was in April 2022 and it was HER2-positive. This was treated with radiation therapy, therapeutic breast reduction, and she made a full recovery. She gave me the option to leave after this diagnosis and I said no because I loved her. In April 2025 we became concerned about a lump that was developing in her other breast, tests confirmed that this was a triple negative breast cancer and she would need to have chemotherapy and immunotherapy for six months, followed by a mascetomy, radiation therapy, and finally reconstruction. The treatment was not effective and she was diagnosed in March 2026 as being stage 4. She passed away about 4 weeks later after a very quick decline.

She passed away without leaving a will as all of this was so sudden and we were not married. It's something we spoke about, but unfortunately as her decline was so rapid we couldn't arrange anything.

Yesterday her father called to the house with an auctioneer to have the house valued for probate. I'm aware that this is quite common so I'd no issue with it. I was very polite and chatted with both of them, we shared a few laughs about things. After the auctioneer left her father said that he wanted to chat with me. So I agreed to it as we have always had a pretty good relationship.

He said that probate was progressing very quickly and would all be completed in a matter of weeks. I know this is not the case as even with a will it can take a few months to have the grant issued. He then said to me that the solicitor dealing with the estate wanted to know my intentions, I was honest and said that I would eventually move back to where my job is as I have friends around there. I said that ideally I would need six months to do this. This is purely so I can save as much money as possible and mean that I am only renting for a short time before I would be in a position to buy somewhere. Me asking for six months did not go down well with him and he said it was much too long, that it needed to be as soon as possible as he is selling the house due to the tax liability that he will now have. I was incredibly shocked by his response. I had a feeling he would sell the house, but to want me out of the house as soon as possible a month after I have buried the love of my life seemed incredibly cold hearted. Especially as I stood by her through both diagnosis, brought her to appointments when needed and on several occasions brought her to hospital in the middle of the night due to side effects from her treatment. Her father was extremely possessive of her too. This is the second child they have buried and now have no children.

I've been paying half of everything in the house since I moved in in June 2024. That's the mortgage, bills etc. I have proof of transferring her money on my bank statements and Revolut account. I'm not looking for any part of her estate, just somewhere to live until probate is granted or the house is sold.

I've no idea what my rights are in this situation. Because we were in a relationship and loved each other there was of course no need for a lease or anything like that. I know that she had a significant amount of money saved, just under €200k due to a fixed term deposit savings account and also a credit union account. So even with CAT her father still will have access to a significant amount of cash to cover tax on him receiving the property.

Can he just arrive and ask me to vacate the house immediately? I'm still not over her death and this is a right kick to take literally a month after she passed. I should add that my partner told me that he got annoyed when I brought her to some appointments to give him a break. He's in his 70s and driving a 200km round trip every day to bring her to radiation therapy is a lot for anyone to do.

Where do I legally stand on all of this? I should add that I have kept the house running since her passing, maintaining the garden, making sure the bins go out and I paid the TV licence recently too. I told her father this and he was visibly irritated that I paid the TV licence. He told me I am not to pay any further bills, to which I said I'll need to pay the broadband as I need this in order to work from home as I'm hybrid working.

Thanks in advance!

TL:DR - Partner of five years passed away a month ago due to cancer, I've been living with her for 22 months paying half of everything, and now her father wants me out of the house ASAP a month after she has passed away.