Executor of estate

[mytimewillcome]

My ex died 6 weeks ago. We were still married but had been separated for almost 4 years. We were married for 4 years. We have 2 children aged 7 and 5. My question is that I have not been told who the executor of his estate is and he had a flat that his family is already selling. Will I be told who the executor is? I would hope that the proceeds of his flat would go to the children but I haven't been told anything.

Well, you will only be told if you ask, or, if one of the people who are close to him / dealing with it chooses to tell you.
Had you written wills together when you were together ?
Have you asked the family ?

If he left no will, you're his next of kin and beneficiary of the first £250k plus half of the residue.

I suggest that you contact whoever is his otherwise closest NOK, without mentioning anything about your having a claim in your own right, and ask whether a will exists.

It was sudden with no illness so I don't think there was a will. I don't get on with his family and there is little contact so it's not easy to ask these things. I suppose I'm surprised that they can sell his flat with no consultation with me. I'm also don't want to be that person who chases money after someone dies.

Get a solicitor asap!

If he did leave a will, if it failed to provide for you and the children, you can claim against his estate.

Get a solicitor who deals with contentious probate asap.

Nor do you want to be that person who is too polite to assert her children's right to inherit from their Dad.

Unless he made other arrangements( and possibly even if he did) YOU are his next of kin
Nobody should be selling anything being involved

Surprising that his fqmily have been able to act so quickly with the sale of the property. Grant of probate usually takes longer than this.

If he did not have a will, and you are still married, then you and the children should inherit everything: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/who-can-inherit-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/

You need to get legal advice immediately.

If he has not got a will, the executor will have to apply for probate, which takes weeks/months. His property should not be on the market unless probate has been granted.

Without a will, you/your children will inherit. There are laws stating who will inherit what if someone dies intestate. If he has a will, then an executor will distribute this accordingly.

Either way, you have a right to know, and you should proactively ensure your children get any inheritance they are entitled to.

A probate solicitor will be able to help you very easily,

It's just been pointed out to me that his parents may have owned the property so that is why they can sell it but I will check on the land registry website. I will also find out if there is a will. So it could take months to find out what we will get from his estate? Is that normally communicated by letter?

Thank you for the responses. I've had to spend a lot of money on solicitors getting various court orders against him and his family so I am reluctant to use the little money I have left if I should just wait.

You don't want to chase his money, but surely his children should benefit from it (if there is any), so you need to consider doing their behalf.

I would have thought that you would be NOK until the divorce is finalized.

You could also be entitled to a widow's pension, if he was in a pension scheme, as well as the state widowed parent's allowance, and possibly a life insurance payout or any death in service benefit his company might offer - definitely worth finding out for your children's sake, even if his family make it difficult for you.

Checking ownership of the property takes 5 minutes and costs £3. Just go onto www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

You can also check whether probate was granted, for free. on: www.gov.uk/search-will-probate. As a PP said 6 weeks is very short. My dad's took 3 1/2 months to come through.

Very helpful thank you. His name was on the property. I've checked. His pension company have already contacted me. I'll check probate on the link. I'm going to clarify what is going on with his family before I get in solicitors. I'm relying on what my 7 year old son is saying currently. Appreciate everyone's help, Thank you.

Someone will have to apply for probate. It's just completing forms but you have to know details.
Iirc- there is a section about spouse and dependents. So if they completed it they should have added your details. You can download the form from HMRC website. There might be a form to complete stating your claim.
www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-person-didnt-leave-a-will

www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-
Widows pension details changed recently, but there are other things you can claim
Call HMRC, they were very helpful

Not a lawyer but can you get a charge put on the property at the Land Registry (read about it on Mumsnet) so they can't sell it and pocket the money ( as without grant of probate/will surely they can't up and do this as you are next of kin).

Was it just his name on the property, or his parents too? If his parents too, their share might automatically go to him. That's the only way they would be allowed to sell it.
If his pension company have already been in touch, you might have to apply for probate yourself. I dealt with 3 pension companies, they all needed probate

I looked at that probate link and his name isn't on there. I'm wondering if they expect me to do it but as his parents are retired and we hadn't been together for a number of years I assumed they would do it. It was only his name on the house. I'm still waiting for them to tell me what's going on. I think the problem is lack of information and communication and what they have told my son has further complicated things. They are grieving so I don't want to push it too hard yet.

The probate link is for records of grants of probate, i.e. for when the process is completed, not for whether or not anyone has started the process of applying for probate (if he only died a few weeks ago, it is highly unlikely that probate would have been obtained already - it takes months or even years sometimes). Do any lawyers on here know if there is any way of finding out whether anyone has started the process? I would suspect you will actually need to ask his family.

Just call HMRC
They might have started the process but it's not showing up yet.
Probate is the form you get to show you can deal with the estate, that only takes a couple of weeks.
You can have different people applying for probate, and challenging.