Chiswick Widow Wins Epic Battle Against Apple
Rachel Thompson obtains court order to get access to dead husband's phone
Rachel Thompson
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Chiswick resident Rachel Thompson has won her fight with the giant Apple Corporation to be allowed to retrieve family photos left on her dead husband's mobile.
Matt Thompson, a well known estate agent in Chiswick, died in July 2015 and left no will. It took four years and a court order for Rachel to get Apple to release his photos and videos so that she could share them with their young daughter.
When Matt died suddenly in 2015, he left behind 4,500 photos, 900 videos and a now 10-year-old daughter. He was a keen photographer and she was keen to get access to the photos but the files were locked inside his Apple account to which she did not have access. As he had not made a will when he died, the legal situation was that the photos belonged to Apple. They said they needed a court order to legally access the information because the person who died had not specified his wishes.
The couple had been estranged when Matt died, but were still legally married and he continued to visit the family home to see his then five-year old daughter and go on family holidays.
Rachel said she would never have been able to win the battle without the help of her lawyers who agreed to work pro bono. She described Apple's attitude as 'harsh and unhelpful'.
The legal ruling has made Rachel the subject of international news headlines.
It has also drawn attention to potential problems with the rapid growth of the internet. When a person posts photographs on social media, they own the content, but the access is belonged to the service profider. Social network accounts,, email accounts, and most other types of online accounts are 'yours' by license only. When you die, the contract is over and the business that administers the account controls what happens to it.'
Another case in the US in 2016 had seen a widow denied access to her husband's iPad, even though she had provided Apple with his will leaving everything to her, a death certificate, and serial numbers for his devices. When Donna Bush was told she needed a court order, she was surprised as she had been able to transfer the title on the house, and the car, using a notarised death certificate and the will.
For photos, videos and the like, as long as you own those files 'you can use your will or living trust to leave these items to your friends or love ones,' Nolo.com says. 'Just describe them well ('all of my photographs of the Grand Canyon stored in my Snapfish account') and make sure that your executor has the information he or she needs to access the account and download the files.'
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May 16, 2019
