What happens now, death & divorce?

[BentFork]

Brian & Andrew (made up names obvs) got divorced in a fit of pique, without sorting a financial settlement. Both names still on the house deeds, credit cards & shared bank accounts. Andrew wanted to reconcile and there were on/off talks. Andrew had no dc but Brian had an adult son from a previous relationship. Out of the blue, Brian died suddenly from an undiagnosed aneurysm. What happens now to Andrew? Will Brian's son automatically inherit half the house and investments? No new wills were written after divorce and as I understand it, divorce means Andrew can no longer inherit Brian's half of the house & savings.

Were they joint tenants or tenants in common?

You need to get proper legal advice. There are variables which affect what happens next, a solicitor will be able to give you the correct answer.

i don’t know exactly but I was told that the financial settlement is to prevent any subsequent claim on inheritance etc, so it may be that Andrew can stil pursue it.
The default is likely to be Brian’s son though, and it sounds like a recipe for strained relations.

Joint tenants

Joint tenents mean they both own all of the house so I think that means that Andrew automatically now owns all the house.

I'm not a lawyer or Solicetor though!

Of the Joint Tenancy is still extant the house passes to the survivor.

First action on splitting up should be to sever any joint tenancy.

Joint bank accounts will likely pass to the survivor too.

If Brian made a will after marriage, it is still valid but it is treated as if Andrew died, so he won't receive anything that Brian left him.

If the house is still owned as joint tenants, Andrew now owns it outright. However, if either of them severed the joint tenancy on divorce, Andrew only owns 50% of the house. The other 50% forms part of Brian's estate and will be distributed according to his will.

Any money in joint bank accounts now belongs to Andrew. Any investments held in joint names now belong to Andrew.

As there was no financial settlement, Andrew may be able to make a claim against Brian's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act.