Do we have any rights?

[amber6454]

Hi thanks for reading.
I will try to be brief. We believe that our father did not get his inheritance when his father died 3 years ago. There had been a big family fall out. There was no will so the estate was to be divided between the 2 brothers and a sister. This I do know to be fact. I also know that property was sold and that there was money to be shared also. My father had grumbled about this from time to time but we just let him get on with it. Now my father has died, we have tried to find out whether he got his inheritance. We have been told by his brother that he did and I am not sure if this is true. My question is if he did not get it would we have a claim to it as his children? Also what process we would need to go through. Is there something legally we can do? Thanks for any help you can give.

[MissFM]

Re: Do we have any rights?

Hi Amber,

You need to find out how your Grandfather's estate was administered and by whom. This should be a matter of public record, even if he died intestate. Ask to see the closing accounts for distribution.

Who is administering your late father's estate? There should be evidence in (for example) his bank statements as to whether he received his share.

[Johnboy007]

Re: Do we have any rights?

The laws on intestacy dictate on the inheritance of any estate.
The surviving wife/husband or civil partner inherit the estate.
If no spouse, the surviving children, including legally adopted children, get it, or if any of the children have died, then it is their children or legally adopted children who inherit their share of the estate.
So on and so forth.
If no survivors of the deceased, then the crown gets it all.

You could make a request to look at the accounts, or even look into your own father's accounts to see what money has been distributed.
If a property was sold then it is very unlikely, that there wouldn't be some record of money that went into your fathers bank account.
It would have been for some considerable amount.