My daughter's father has died intestate is there anything I need to do?

[thornrose]

My dd's dad and I separated years ago but he has maintained regular contact with us. I just found out that he died very suddenly. I'm pretty sure he didn't have a will. He has no other children.
I think he has a mortgage in his name (perhaps jointly with his brother.)Does anyone know if his share will pass onto our dd? He didn't get on particularly well with his brother and mum and they are obviously handling all his affairs now. Is there a way they can deny our dd any inheritance?

A funeral would cost around £2.5k - £3k and it would normally be paid out of the estate of the deceased.
You will need a good solicitor who is experienced in probate/trusts/conveyancing to sort it out. Whether your DD inherits part of the house depends on whether her father and his brother were joint tenants (when the "share" goes to the other party on death) or tenants in common (where the share goes to the beneficiary of the will/intestacy). And, a trust will need to be set up for your DD's inheritance until she is an adult.

A sudden death is so shocking and brutal. I know I'll never forget telling dd her dad died, it was such an awful thing to have to do. She was really panicky and just kept saying why, why, She's settled down a bit but it's very early days. I lost my dad when I was in my 20's and he had been ill so it was very different.

Thanks again everyone for great advice for sharing eperiences. I will get a copy of death certificate for sure.
We have the funeral to get through now. Is 10yo too young, I think she should probably go?

My Gran died two weeks ago and we paid £5000 but that was everything including a meal after burial so not just undertaker also paid priest alterboys flowers notice for papers we could have gotten cheaper so £ 9000
I would bring your DD it is important to be allowed to grieve and participate we had all the DGGC at the funneral after all she was as much their Granny as ours they were aged 8yrs to 9 months
I am sorry for your DD loss and wish ye the best for the future

Defintely take your dd to the funeral. She will need you there and you have a right to be there, too.

Agreeing with all the advice above. Get onto a lawyer today, because it might be that your ex's family know your DD is the sole rightful inheritor and are determined to get every penny they can before the estate is looked at properly.

Be warned through, probate courts and what have you can take a very long time to settle matters.

on the funeral issue. My db's cost just over £3500. That was with a larger coffin than standard he was 6'3 which was hand painted with a background design and something personal to him and hand varnished. The pall bearers which were to be paid dispite using our own. A service at the crematorium and a cremation. He also had hygenic cleansing(sp) not quite full embalment(sp) so we could still see him until the funeral. One limo aswell. So i think he has increased the price of the funeral or added loads of extras on

If the house was held under a joint tenancy the other party (ie his brother) will automatically have sole title of the house on the death of your ex. It will not form part of his estate and your DD will have no claim on it.

However, if it was held as tenants in common the half belonging to your ex will form part of his estate and your DD will be entitled to inherit it.

It's a very important distinction. Hopefully, most good conveyancers dealing with buyers who are not married or cohabiting would automatically have suggested a tenancy in common so good chance it is held in this way.

anyway, your solicitor will be able to find this out.