Husbands uncle died last year leaving the house he lived in to his brother, husbands other uncle. There are also two surviving sisters. Husbands father died four years ago. The uncle who died had no wife or children's meaning that, if there was no will, the three surviving siblings and my husband would inherit equally.
We find out that uncle was in the process of selling the house so assume that there was a will but, next thing, there is an ad in the local paper asking for anyone who feels they have a claim to register their interest (bank had placed ad).
So, do we assume there is no will or, if there is a will, is it being contested!
I suspect that he had appointed the bank as executor. Placing ads in the local paper and the London Gazette is standard practice.
The executor's job is to identify all of the assets in the estate and pay off any outstanding bills. Then the estate can be distributed according to the will. The ads are designed to flush out anyone he owed money to. If they don't come forward, they can't make a claim later.