Hi i just want to explain my situation and see if any one knows anythig about it. My mum died of cancer when i was 15 my sis was 10. She was married to my stepdad for 7/8 years before she died. they had a nice big house but my mum never worked and i dont think she put any money into the house etc. the bank accounts and everything was joint though. when she died my sis went to her real dads and i stayed with my step dad, but when he went to work away in turkey i went to my dads and ended up staying there. I'm still very very close to my step dad and love him dearly, so i never really want to bring this up with him. But when my mum died would we not have been entitled to any money or anything?? me and my sis have absolutley nothing to show from our mum not even her jewelery. I'm pretty sure she had lufe cover not sure though as she was only 34 when she died. i know she was in westfield too. I'm not a money grabber or anything like that, i would never say anything to my step father either about it, i just wondered if any one knew if we were entitled to anything or when he dies if a share in the house would come to us?? thanks sara

I'm not totaly sure but I think if she was married then everything would automatically pass to her husband unless she had made a will stating otherwise. I'm sure if she had made a will leaving stuff to you then your stepdad would have followed her wishes, but you could always mention to him that you would like to have a keepsake to remember her by and see what he says.
Unfortunately I don't think you would be entitiled to anything when he dies as your aren't actually related to him, but again, I'm not sure.
Hope that helps hun
Kerry xx

Hi, I think I can help a bit, although its a while since I studied this so might have changed a bit. I am sorry to hear that you lost your mum so young too.
If your mum didnt have a will, everything would go to your Stepdad. There is a cap on the amount ??125k (of her sole assets) I think, then any extra gets split with some going into trust but if there was a mortgage on the house then the real assets are less so the value isnt necessarily a good guide. I dont know if him being your stepdad makes a difference or not but I think as the house was likely a joint asset, rather than your mums sole asset originally that it would legally be his now and so up to him who he leaves it too..
As its personal items that your curious about and you sound like you get on well I would have a chat with him about it. He should understand that you would want to see or have some things of your mums. This might also encourage him to open up and mention who he plans on leaving the house too without you having to.
Good luck with it all.

Hi

Firstly sorry that you had to go thru losing your mum.

Im not really sure, it would firstly depend on if she had a will, as to who it went too, if she didnt have one it would probably pass to her husband.

Had she got divorceed from your step dad rather than passed away then she would have been entitled to money from the house even if she hadnt put any money towards it as the courts look at her role, ie cooking cleaning caring toward your step dad and that would be considered as contributing so she would have had a monetary divorcee settlement.

I know it must be really hard but if i was you i would speak to your step dad even if its just about her possesions as I believe the difficulty will arise if he a, dies without a will as your not a blood relative you wouldnt be entittled or b, gets remarried he he dies then it would go to his new wife Im pretty sure if your mum hasnt left a will you will have no say in the matter.

If i was you I would make an appointment with the CAB and just ask if they have any advice, im sorry i cant really be of any help

xxDBxx

Hi, just thought if he does remarry his new girlfriend and he dies,and has no will would it all go to her and all 8 of her kids? or if he died and he did have a will would it all still go to her or would she have to sell house and split it by what he puts in will?? all her kids are grown up and left home by the way. Thanks sara

If they get married it makes it more difficult as she will have a financial stake in his assests (actually she can have a financial stake without getting married if she can prove she has contributed) but yes if he doesnt have a will and is married it will all go to her.

However if he does have a will then all assests that are his will have to be divided up how he chooses. If she doesnt do it like that you could take her to court. xx

If somebody dies without a will then the intestacy rules apply stating who recieves the deceased persons estate (their property and assets). You can find the intestacy rules on websites like the probate registry and the inland revenue.

If somebody dies with a will then their property and assets will be distributed as directed in their will.

However, it will also depend on how any property is held - when you own a house you can own it one of two ways.

The first is called "joint tenants" and effectively means you each own the whole property with neither person having a distinct share. When a joint tenant dies the property automatically passes to the survivor regardless of the intestacy rules or anything said in their will if they had one.

The other way is called "tenants in common" and means each owner has a distinct share (e.g. 50%+50% or 60%+40%). When one tenant dies their share passes according to their will (if they had one) or otehrwise according to the intestacy rules (if they didnt have a will).

Often with step-familes people will create a Trust in their will so that property passes to their spouse (husband or wife) but with the property passing to the children after the spouse has died. Or else leaving property on Trust for their children when they reach a certain age (18 or 21).

I think you may be able to make a search of the probate registry to see if someone left a will when they died and can obtain a copy of it. I don't have time to look this up myself.

The same will apply when your step-father dies although if he is now living in Turkey then diffrenent rules may apply and some countries have "forced inheritence" rules which dictate who recieves a property when someone dies.

I agree with others that you should speak to your step-dad about your mums things.