wills and inheritance law

[itsmeron]

does a wife by law inherit her husbands estate/house automatically when he dies in england?from what ive read it seems that when one of them dies the other inherits the home and then passes it down again to the children when they die.

[Barmaid]

If the husband has left a Will, the estate is distributed as per the terms of the Will (which could exclude the wife).

If the husband dies without a Will (intestate), the estate is distributed as follows:

household goods and personal effects to spouse
�125,000 statutory legacy to the spouse
half of what is left to the children at aged 18 absolutely
remaining half to the spouse for life (ie she gets the income) and on her death to the children.