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  • Question about dying intestate

    If a married man with no children dies without making a will, would his widow automatically inherit all his estate? His closest living blood relative is his sister and all his other siblings have pre-deceased him. Would the sister be entitled to any of the estate?

    I must add that this is purely hypothetical and the sister has no intention of claiming anything.
    My avatar is my Great Grandmother Emma Gumbert

    Sue at Langley Vale

  • #2
    Sue

    Depends where they lived. Here in the Duchy of Cornwall, a wife only gets half her deceased husband's estate if he dies intestate - the rest goes to Prince Charles. Same in the Duchy of Lancaster.

    OC

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    • #3
      I had a moment of not feeling like doing anything else, and watched a recent Heir Hunters on iPlayer. There was a woman who'd died intestate. The Heir Hunters were looking for her blood relations. Her sister-in-law, to whom she'd been very close, and who lived close by, was having to accept that the bungalow and land which had once held the cottages where she was born, were going to go to someone else altogether, with no connection to he original owners at all.

      Christine
      Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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      • #4
        According to this solicitor's site.
        Married person, no children

        * If there are parents, brothers or sisters of the whole blood, nephew or nieces:-
        o Spouse gets everything up to *£450,000 & personal possessions.
        * Anything remaining is divided into two:-
        o Half of this goes to spouse
        o Half to parents. If no parent is living then it goes to brothers or sisters or their children.
        Phil
        historyhouse.co.uk
        Essex - family and local history.

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        • #5
          There are specific intestacy rules about proportions of an estate and who would automatically benefit. I'm not sure of the actual rules but if there are no children I think the widow would get everything. If there had been children then the estate is divided up with set percentages going to the widow and children. Siblings and parents are next in line but I'm not sure if they would benefit in this case.

          Anne

          Edit: Thanks Keldon - I was nearly right then!!!

          Comment


          • #6
            Thank you all for your replies.

            OC
            On the face of it, that sounds more than a little unfair, but I suppose that's the price you pay for living in such beautiful places


            Christine
            I watched that Heir Hunters episode and thought how unfair that was. One of the strongest cases ever for making a will I thought.


            Keldon
            Thank you for that information and link to that site. Very interesting reading.

            Anne
            Thank you for the information. I knew there were specific rules, but didn't know exactly what they were.

            If one good thing has come out of this, it is that the widow has now made a will. It's strange how the people who seem to be the most likely to leave a will are the ones who don't. He was meticulous in everything else he did in his life, even taking out an insurance to pay his disabled wife's care fees if he wasn't able to look after her any more.
            Last edited by LangleyValeSue; 12-08-10, 11:05.
            My avatar is my Great Grandmother Emma Gumbert

            Sue at Langley Vale

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi, my Grandad died last year and left no will. Everything went to my Granny and not her 3 children (including my Dad) and they live in Cornwall! If my Granny died leaving no will would everything go to the 3 children?
              Tessie

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              • #8
                I beg your pardon, everyone.

                It seems the rules changed a while ago (I cannot find out when) and now the two Duchys operate the same intestacy rules as the rest of England. The only difference is that if no relatives can be found, then the estate goes to the Duchy, rather than to the government.

                Make a Will!

                OC

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                • #9
                  Would my Granny's estate still go to the government or her 3 boys though? I presume it would as they are blood relatives?
                  Thanks

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                  • #10
                    If the Treasury Solicitor finds one of the blood relatives, they'd be asked to submit a claim. If they can't find anyone, the estate will go on the Bona Vacantia and it's then up to someone to prove a blood link.
                    Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by tessie31082 View Post
                      Would my Granny's estate still go to the government or her 3 boys though? I presume it would as they are blood relatives?
                      Thanks
                      The sons would be equally entitled to a share of the estate. Unless the estate is very small, one of them would have to apply to be the administrator of the estate. There is an order of who is entitled to be the administrator and adult children are next in line after spouses.
                      Jackie

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                      • #12
                        Although you make a will, you will still need to go to probate in some circumstances, the banks insist if the money value is over £5,000. Building Soc insist if up to £15,000.
                        If the House is only in one name.

                        My friend had to go to a solicitor to do Probate when her husband died and it took over 1 year, lots of mistakes made and she was then charged more than £4,000 by the solicitor. Her Husband had paid good money to have his will drawn up airtight as he thought, but the wife is still reeling from the costs.

                        Be warned......


                        Edna

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                        • #13
                          Edna

                          You do not need to use a solicitor for probate, it is usually a straightforward logical thing to do unless the deceased's affairs were very complicated, such as owning standng forests, lol, or lots of complicated business dealings.

                          OC
                          Last edited by Olde Crone Holden; 13-08-10, 08:10. Reason: Balderdash

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