[pottypauline]

My mum married her second husband 35 years ago, he had 2 adult children and she had 4, as the youngest I was the only child living at home when they married, I was 16. My mum sadly passed away in June 2012, her husband passed in November 2012. His eldest daughter, has put their house up for auction, she has said her fathers wish was that following the sale of the property the assets be split 4 ways between her, her brother and her 2 sons, I'm not sure if he made a will, I have every respect for her fathers wishes but what about my mothers wishes? This does not involve a huge amount of money the estate is only worth £60-70k but surely there is a moral principal and I'd like to know for my mothers sake whether her children should be considered in the sharing out of the small assests.

[ebaines]

Your mother's wishes would have been documented in her will - did she have one? If not, her assets would pass to heirs as determined by law. I believe that the law for intestacy in the UK is that the husband would get all of her personal possessions plus the first £250K, and a life interest estate in anything above that. Based on your description it sounds like her estate was probably worth less than £250K, so in esssence he gets it all (if she left no will). Then when the husband died his assets would be partitioned according to his will, and if he had no will then again law determines the split. In this case it would be in equal parts to his two children. As a step-child I don't believe you would inherit from the step-father, but also neither would the daughters children - so if she is planning on splitting his assets 4 ways that doesn't seem correct to me UNLESS he had a will which spelled that out. I suggest you consult with a solicitor to verify what the rules are and whether you have any recourse. Be armed with the wills (if they exist) and a rough list of assets involved.

[AK lawyer]

... I have every respect for her fathers wishes but what about my mothers wishes? ...

Decedents' "wishes" are legally meaningless unless they are reduced to a valid will.

[ScottGem]

First, its not a good idea to piggyback your question on another thread. To avoid confusion your post has been moved to its own thread.

As AK said, if your mother had wishes about how her estate should have been distributed, then she should have made a will. If you she didn't then her estate should be distributed according to the laws of intestacy where she lived. If you live in the UK then ebaines mentioned the law. Which would mean you are entitled to nothing. You may think there is a moral principle here and there might very well be one. But the law does not always recognize moral principles. In this case it doesn't and your step father's executor can distribute the estate anyway she wishes as long as she stays within the law. Even though the laws of intestacy do not allow her children to inherit, as long as the brother agrees to the 4 way split, it can be done. Only the brother can fight it. Legally there should be a 2 way split and the daughter and her brother. If she wants her children to get anything it would come out of her half.