no will

[pacificgirl]

My father has recently passed away,he left no will but was remarried,his wife has 2 sons from her first marriage,me and my sister being his only blood children.His wife is getting drunk all the time and ripped off by her sons.Is there anything i can do to what is happening to dads personal belongings?

[dzug]

Not a lot I fear. If his estate was small his new wife is entitled to the lot.

By small I mean up to �125000, which may or may not include the value of the house, depending on how it was owned.

[Ethel]

It is the value of your father's estate - his property, money, personal possessions and so on - that determine who inherits.

If the total value is �125,000 or less, his wife inherits everything.

If the value is over �125,000 his wife gets �125,000 and a life interest in half of everything over this sum.
His children - you and your sister - would be entitled immediately to half of everything over �125,000 and the other half on his wife's death.

But it is a very complicated area - on the face of it I would say there is nothing in law unless you are entitled to a share of the estate as mentioned, but you could speak to his wife and try and negotiate.