Advice about Wills

[Ohmydarlin]

DH's Mum died recently leaving all of her estate to DH's stepdad. A large chunk of the estate was in fact inherited from DH's Grandfather.

DH's Stepdad is still relatively young and DH is worried that he will re-marry and all his Mum's estate will potentially go to his Stepdad's new family.

Of course this may never happen, but is there anything DH can do to protect his Mum's estate in this eventuality?

No, it it no longer his mums estate, it now belongs to his stepdad and stepdad is free to dispose of it in his will or during his lifetime as he wishes - irrespective of how he acquired it.

If DH mum wanted to ensure provision for her own children/grandchildren, she would have done so in her own will.

The DirectGov website states:
"If you feel that you have not received reasonable financial provision from the estate, you may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 - applicable in England and Wales. To make a claim you must have a particular type of relationship with the deceased, such as child, spouse, civil partner, dependant or cohabitee.

Bear in mind that if you were living with the deceased as a partner but weren't married or in a civil partnership, you'll need to show that you've been 'maintained either wholly or partly by the deceased' - this can be difficult to prove if you've both contributed to your life together.

You need to make a claim within six months of the date of the Grant of Letters of Administration.

This is quite a complicated area and a claim may not succeed. It's advisable to ask a solicitor's advice. They would charge for this service."

I presume she made a will and left all to the stepfather? If she did, it would be unlikely that your DH would be able to make a successful claim (unless your DH was dependent on her financially). If she died without making a will the position would be different.
A short meeting with a solicitor would answer your question.