Slightly odd inheritance question...AIBU?

[Jpr95]

Well it's not quite an AIBU because I don't think I'm entitled to anything here legally but just in case I thought it might be worth asking the question!

So, my parent was married, left their spouse, some years later met my other parent and had me. But never divorced their spouse.

Both my parents died a few years ago. I've been researching my family tree in lockdown and discovered that the spouse died last year apparently with no next of kin. From what I've been able to find out of where they lived, it seems they were quite wealthy.

I don't think I have any entitlement here do I? Rationally I feel not, but then again I can't help wondering about it. It could be a life-changing amount of money.

Do I need to just forget about it all and stop daydreaming about possible inheritances? Or is it worth me making some enquiries with the government legal dept (think that's what they're called, the body who deal with estates of those with no family). Talk some sense to me please!

Thanks, @bevelino!

Does it cost money to apply to the Bona Vacantia Division? Unless it's peanuts, that would influence what I would do. As soon as OP produces her birth certificate, I would expect that's the beginning and end of her claim. The wealthy deceased person was not her parent. Being her parent's widow/er is irrelevant, surely.

Your parent died first, meaning the estranged spouse inherited. You have no bloody line. Heir hunters trace blood lines.

"Well that would be up to the court to decide. I can't help you there."

No I know, just musing!

Thinking that as Op is an adult, never knew/met the person & was never dependent on them at all?

It's certainly an interesting scenario.

They're not just "the ex" - they were still married. That's an important legal distinction.

No they weren't. The deceased was a widow(er). Clearly if the deceased was survived by a spouse, then their estate would pass to the spouse, and then to OP. But deceased's link to OP was severed upon the death of spouse/OP's parent.

It's neither complicated, nor that unusual. OP has no claim whatsoever.

I think people are getting confused with the Op's mum and the Op's dad's wife. They are two separate people, the Op's parents weren't married to each other. One of the Op's parent's was married to the deceased before the op was born. There is no biological connection at all between the op and the deceased.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g I don't think it costs anything to apply to BVD, but it can be very time consuming depending on how good record keeping is. I know one person going through this process and it has rumbled on for a while.

They may throw out OPs claim or they may agree, but I don't think the OP has anything to lose by applying.

@diddl it's certainly not a scenario which is set out on their lists, but it's quite an unusual one. They may reject it out of hand but it would be interesting to find out.

I imagine that this whole business of still being married even though life has moved on and the parties concerned are now in different relationships, or one of them is, will get rarer now that marriage is not as common and divorce is easier. Must have happened quite a lot when couples separated but didn't divorce because it was too expensive, they didn't have grounds (in Victorian times lots of couples stayed married because one was insane and that wasn't grounds for divorce), one was a Catholic and objected etc etc.

It's a very interesting point that when OP's parent died, if there had been no valid will, his/her estate would have gone to the abandoned spouse. I assume therefore there was either no estate to worry about or there was a valid will.

@MsTSwift

They died in the wrong order for the op to take. If spouse died before her parent they inherit then op does. But if her parent already dead it passes to the deceased extended family

Exactly this!

Not sure why anyone is saying otherwise to be honest. The government website sets out what happens to intestate estates quite clearly.

Just as an aside - just because something is published on the bona vacantia list doesn't mean there is any money at all.... Bankrupt estates are also published.

There was a thread this week about poor comprehension on Mumsnet, this thread exemplifies it.

@titchy

They're not just "the ex" - they were still married. That's an important legal distinction.

No they weren't. The deceased was a widow(er). Clearly if the deceased was survived by a spouse, then their estate would pass to the spouse, and then to OP. But deceased's link to OP was severed upon the death of spouse/OP's parent.

It's neither complicated, nor that unusual. OP has no claim whatsoever.

No claim automatically under intestacy rules, I agree.

But she can still apply and the court may award her the estate.

I would definitely claim...they can only turn you down if you aren't entitled!

I had a friend in the US, she did an immigration marriage back in the early 80s. In those days you could pretty much just get married, hand over the marriage certificate and never see the person again. Anyway, years later (late 90s) a lawyer found her, her 'husband' had died (she just hadn't bothered divorcing) with no other known relatives or will and she inherited about $300,000!

I always thought it went like this so becareful of the can of worms you might open.
Parent still married.
Parent died, the Wife or Husband can claim if Your parent did not make a will.
Once the Spouse dies, the family of the dead spouce have no claim on the survivors estate, it goes back up their family, children of relationship, parents, siblings or children, .

But she can still apply and the court may award her the estate.

Unless she was financially dependent upon the deceased no they won't. She has no link, no dependency, no relationship, no claim.

@Lockheart, gosh, I can see in that case it could become a full-time hobby applying on spec for all sorts of juicy looking estates. Is there such a thing as a vexatious applicant for Bona Vacantia?

Makes me think of Bleak House and Jarndyce v Jarndyce. One of my favourite books. Convoluted inheritance disputes are quite a theme in 19th century novels.

I am with you OP, if its case of you of the Government then heck why not. You see on the heir hunter programmes that people often inherit from people they don't even know existed. They can say No but you haven't lost anything

I'm sure one of the many heir hunter companies will be tracing the deceased's actual extended family now. Their parents and grandparents offspring. I wonder if OP has found out if her parent had siblings or aunts/uncles.

Your parent died first, you have no claim, but heir hunters can and will look into your parent, too see if THEY can claim .
I know someone who lost a house to a step parent they had never met, because of this.

I think if the parent died first the. You have no claim however I would have thought with no divorce you would have had a claim in your parents money unless there was a will that said otherwise which presumably there was. I would definitely look into it but it's probably a very far off chance

[quote Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]@Lockheart, gosh, I can see in that case it could become a full-time hobby applying on spec for all sorts of juicy looking estates. Is there such a thing as a vexatious applicant for Bona Vacantia?

Makes me think of Bleak House and Jarndyce v Jarndyce. One of my favourite books. Convoluted inheritance disputes are quite a theme in 19th century novels.[/quote]
You need quite a lot of supporting information, so I doubt it.

OP will, I would guess, need to provide marriage certificates, death certificates, her birth certificate, a family tree, among other things.

You can't just rock up and make a claim for whatever you like.

@titchy the heir hunter companies as awful as it sounds only get involved depending on how much the estate is worth, as they take a cut, and how hard it is to find the heirs as it costs them to delegate staff to even look, and with the mentioned name change they may not have looked or given up

@titchy

But she can still apply and the court may award her the estate.

Unless she was financially dependent upon the deceased no they won't. She has no link, no dependency, no relationship, no claim.

In your opinion. A court may disagree.

@TrickyD I think it’s you that needs to RTFT . The OP said her parent was married , left that marriage and then met her mum and had her but dad never divorced his wife. So her dad was married to someone , never divorced and then met her mum and OP was born.

No jealousy here, I don’t need anyone else’s money to live my life , we manage quite fine on our own.

Sorry, but morally this just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s grabby and desperate. I rather estates like these just went to charities. They just bring the worst out in people otherwise.

@TrickyD

Nothing gross about it, either she has a claim or she doesn't.

The only way to find out is to ignore the ill-informed if well-intentioned advice on here and see a lawyer.

this 100%