Step mother and my inheritance

[fetchmemyparasol]

My father died in 1997 he was reasonably wealthy, my step mother inherited the two houses he had plus any additional assets.
My father did not leave a will, however my siblings and I decided not to enquire what he had left.
Fast forward to two weeks ago my stepmother died, her relative a second cousin had taken her from where she had been living to his home, my brother had previously been looking after her.
As far as we were aware she had not made a will so as we are aware all her assets go to her blood relative.

We have now found out that my father was the sole owner of the house she was living in, my question to any one in the know is .
Can her blood relatives have the house or does it belong to my siblings and I who are my fathers children.
Also this cousin is now claiming that there may be a will leaving it to his family .

Jeez why do people not make wills. Even Islamically speaking it is obligatory to leave a will for your descendants. Don't know why people blame it on religion. As all the assets are in the UK so in the absence of will the assets will be divided according to the intestate rules. Check here to get a basic idea and go to a solicitor.

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/sorting-out-the-estate-when-there-isnt-a-will

Well that's me writing up a will!

I have a friend who deals with probate. Mirror wills or no wills usually end in disinherited step children.

Generally the surviving spouse views the money as theirs regardless and so it all goes to blood.

That said it’s changing as i think my generation (i’m 50) and younger are far more savvy and solicitors will spell out the pit falls of remarriage etc.
Not that stupid old men will listed. Though my best friends dad many many years ago used to tell how the would tell ‘suitors’ his lovely and massive old house and contents was his kids and them count the days before they’d disappear!

I just think the law as it stands now is cruel

The law is fine. The problem is people that choose not to make a will.

And in your case, the problem is that this should all have been dealt with 22 years ago, not now.

if your father made a will I think there is some sort of register if it was registered/kept at a solicitors

My mum died when I was in my early 20s leaving a large house in the SE. It all went to my father. He then married again quite quickly. He died last year without a will. In effect my mother’s assets are now with my deceased father’s wife who from day one refused to engage with my dad’s family and friends. This is why everyone should have a will. My father didn’t even tell us what to do with his ashes so his wife refuses to scatter them.

Reading stories like these make me want to change how my husband and I own our house so that we can will our share to our children. I know as I feel so strongly about it that I will never not make sure my children get what is there (in fact I'm not sure I would remarry to ensure this happens) but I can't be sure my DH doesn't marry and leave everything to his new wife.

A sad tale. Stresses the importance of a will and ensuring not all your assets pass to a second spouse so your children aren't cut from any inheritance.

Agree a sad tale. We did our wills about 5 years ago. At a (not boring I promise!) dinner party recently I discovered not a single friend of ours has a will in place. Discussion bought on by the tragedy of a dear friend signing his on his death bed.
Do it do it do it. There’s even charities these days. And if you don’t have property/ savings at least do it to make sure your children go to who you want them to.

This is very sad indeed.... it's why many people refuse to get married again if they have DC.

I'm just thinking about my DB who is divorced and remarried. He's in his 40s and in good health, but if anything happened, I'd hate to think there's no provision made in a will for the DC.

I might have a chat with him. I've no reason to think SIL would cut them off. She's a good person and is religious.

It can be a difficult subject... I wouldn't want DB to think I was accusing SIL of anything... I'm only looking out for my DNs.

It's very important in Islam to have a will and in the event of not having one (which is poor planning- nothing to do with Islam- Muslims are OBLIGATED to give 2.5% of their wealth to the poor annually- why they'd be encouraged not to make a will leaving their estate to the rightful heirs makes no sense)- there are very, very strict rules in terms of who is entitled to what- even neighbours are entitled to a share in certain cases. Please look into this and/or contact a person with knowledge on the Islamic laws of inheritance. It's an exact science and your inheritance can't just be taken away from you like you're being lead to believe and if it is- those people are going against the very principles of their faith. Please take this seriously and pursue this from an Islamic perspective as well the legal channels.

Ps. Everyone in my family and my social circle has a will- we're Muslim and range in age from our 20s- 50s. There is NO WAY, your SM's family can deprive your fathers biological children from his estate. Legally, I'm not sure how much precedence Islamic laws of inheritance have. That's one for the lawyers to advise you on.

Definitely do your research.

In France children are legally protected & included in the dividing up of the estate even when the other parent is still alive. Not sure why we don’t have a similar system.

Fancynancyclancy that was the main reason why my father and his wife didn’t buy a property in France and instead retired to Norfolk. She didn’t want me and my brother having any rights and she told us that at the time. But my dad was enjoying being looked after by her so there was nothing my brother and I could do. We asked him many times if he had a will and he said yes. As their assets were less than £250k to be honest I will never know if she disposed of the will when he died. That is a major failing of the system that there can be no evidence of a will even if one was written.

Thing is wills can be expensive. In london ours was £1100 12 years ago but its water tight and effectively means our kids can never be totally disinherited. Trustee’s are family and solicitor and trustees have a copy etc.
Personally i would never remarry. Most of my friends have a similar will set up

Blimey!

We had our wills done for a lot less than that, last year (London) and we didn’t have the simplest mirror wills either.

.

Maybe it was a lot. But its not a mirror will and is complex with trustee’s etc.
But yes they weren’t the cheapest law firm!

oyoyoy is right, OP - find yourself an Islamic legal scholar too. (Though if you have brothers, be aware that they will inherit more than you if you have to do it under shari'a) This might also be a useful way to "shame" your SM family into being honest, if the whole community will know what they've done...

Really hope you get a fair judgement on this.

Thank you oyoyoy and Hefzi for your advice, this is something we have thought of.
I think my father was old school and thought that my SM family would do the right thing.

that was the main reason why my father and his wife didn’t buy a property in France and instead retired to Norfolk. She didn’t want me and my brother having any rights and she told us that at the time.

Bloody Hell

Do you have house insurance? If you do check your policy for legal cover - some people have it & don’t even realise it.

You need to seek legal advice, but be warned it’s very expensive, time consuming & stressful.

I had a court case against my step mother when my dad died intestate. He’d had dementia & she had used the power of attorney to make herself very wealthy. The result was that she had to return funds back into the estate & had costs - £150k.

It’s hideous.

This is awful and so common. Similar happened in my family. Am dreading it happening again on the other side of the family too. So sorry OP.