law of intestacy

A question about : law of intestacy

My step father`s widowed mother passed away without leaving a will. I have done all the necessary work for him and got grant of probate. Still living is a sister of my Step dad and three children of another deceased sister. Unfortunately one of these children took advantage of his grandmother whilst she was deteriorating and as a result no family members talk to him, I have read the laws of intestacy and it seems he is owed some share of the estate Even though there is no contact does my step dad have to give him a share of the estate which at present is roughly Ј50000 after an house sale, also how is this enforced as my step dad is not listening to reason and refusing to give him anything, and I do not know the ramifications if he doesn't comply. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Best answers:

• If the laws of intestacy say that, then contact or no contact, the legacy must be paid.
  It isn't enforced unless the beneficiary forces the issue, by going to court if necessary.
• It isn't you, or your step father, or anybody "giving" the errant black sheep anything - it's the law that does it.
  You can't pick and choose, no matter what's gone on. You have to follow the intestacy rules exactly.
• G6JNS is correct. Your step dad will have sworn an oath in getting the Grant (of Administration) which means that if he does not do what he swore he would do he will be in deep trouble if the beneficiary he fails to pay takes legal action.
• What is Step-Dad planning to do with this errant grandson's share?
  Planning to set the 50K aside or put it in the pot for sharing out amongst himself, his sister & only 2 of the other deceased sister's children?
  Assume he 'counted in' everyone correctly on the Probate Application, given that he then swore an oath regarding it's accuracy. So there is a written record that he knows there are 2 surviving children (himself & sister), 1 deceased 'child' (his other sister) and her THREE children.
  How does Step-Dad's surviving sister feel about his intentions? Does he REALLY feel the errant grandson won't find out & will take this lying down - because if so he's kidding himself.
  It is not his choice to do deprive the errant grandson of what is rightfully his share of this inheritance, so Step-Dad had better be crystal clear about what will happen when (because it is WHEN, not IF) it comes to light that he deliberately ignored intestacy rules.
  G6JNS has spelt it out.
• I think it's his share of the Ј50k total estate: 1/3 of 1/3 to the nephew concerned just over Ј5.5k
  But the family do need to track him down and pay it to him when distributing the estate. No matter how much it sticks in the throat of his Uncle (and others).
  Family disputes and rivalries : the best reason for making a will ever!
• The only way the errant grandson could be given less that his 1/3 of 1/3 share of the estate is if he ADMITS to having received some of his inheritance in advance of his grandmother's death, and his share is adjusted accordingly.
  From the little we know, this doesn't seem likely to happen. Unless grandmother put this in writing with explicit reference to it being part of his inheritance, he will just claim that any funds he received from her were gifts she chose to make in her lifetime.