Will / trusts/ survivorship question

[toosadto]

My Dad died suddenly in December. His will looked simple, stating that his wife has a lifetime interest in their home, but that his share of the property would be held in trust for myself and my brother to be transferred to us after her death. Dad's wife and my brother are executors, and my brother has offered his help but has been told that everything is in order and nothing needs to be done. We thought the property was held in equal shares as tenants in common, and I think the first home they bought together was, but their current home is registered as Joint tenants. So does this mean that Dad's wishes stated in his will are disregarded as she now owns the home entirely, due to survivorship rules (England)? I would like to get this all tied up so we all know where we stand, but she's not been very responsive; and I don't want to stir things up as we're all still grieving, especially if it is indeed the case that the whole property is legally hers now. I would be grateful if anyone in the know could clarify this for me please.

If it is owned as joint tenants then yes, she owns the home outright and your father's will is irrelevant. If he severed the joint tenancy and they actually own it as tenants in common, 50% of the house falls into his estate and is dealt with according to his will.

I am so sorry for your loss, and that the processes after his passing are not helping you grieve.
If the will you are referring to is his most current will and was made post marriage, then yes your share should be protected.
If your brother is also executor he should be present at any solicitor meetings as he will need to co sign documents.
How is contact with her in general? If there is already hostility after only a few months I would recommend you and your brother seeking your own legal advice on how to proceed. Good luck

NAL but I think you can just order the basic documents about the house from the land registry yourself for a small fee (£3-4). Might be worth doing and see what that says about ownership and then you would know for sure.
The land registry site has all the info on it to enable you to do this and will tell you the sort of info you get for the different types of service they offer and the different prices so you can make sure that you get the one that shows whether it was held as joint tenants or tenants in common.