Who Inherits?

Brendan552004

I am studying genealogy and I have come up against a hypothetical question.

Mrs X dies in 2005 aged 95, Mr X had died in 1983, they have no children.

Mrs X mother and father are dead as are her brothers and sisters. One brother had married but both his wife and daughter had died before him.

On her fathers side, her father had 3 brothers, one dies in childbirth, one dies single in the war, the other dies single.

On her mothers side, her mother has no surviving brothers or sisters !!, but her mother has 3 surviving nephews and nieces all in their 90's, in other words Mrs X's first cousins.

Who inherits? would Mr X's family be taken into account

For hypothetical reasons she died intestate and died in England


Brendan

mandz

If Mrs. X was living in England at the time of her death then her estate would be subject to the English laws of succession and not the Irish legislation under the Succession Act.

If however Mrs. X was living in Ireland then her estate would go to her closest living relative which in this case would be her first cousins on her mother's side. Given all three cousins are of equal lineage connection to Mrs. X then they would all share her estate equally.

Brendan552004

Thank you for your reply

She actually has two living nephews, but they cannot be traced, I would presume the UK succession act is much akin to our own.

Brendan

mandz

It may be a case that an advertisement in a national newspaper may be required to be published in order to give the nephews (or any other possible relatives) the opportunity to contact the solicitor/administrator of the will before the matter is brought before the probate court. This I'm not entirely sure of but I recall this been done on a file in an office I worked.

Brendan552004

Thank you very much for your reply,

I think what caught my eye was the Paula Yates case in Australia, his parents were deemed the nearest relatives, it moves up, before it moves down.

I have applied for a copy of her will from West Hartlepool and letters of administration, probate, etc.

When you are working as a genealogist, you come accross these cases, I have another one in Rhode Island 1935, no children, her death was advised by her cousin, she was 95 years old, her husband had died 30 years earlier.

I remember a programme on the BBC called "Heir Hunters", they tracked down living relatives of people who had died leaving reasonable sums of money. I do not think there is a comparable service in Ireland. I presume that the estate returns to the State after a number of years.

There is the famous Jane O'Regan case in Savannah, Georgia, my lecturer was involved, bodies were being exhumed in Schull, Co. Cork. He ruled in favour of one family, he was probably correct.

Another case is the lineage of Eamonn De Valera, looks like he was illegitimate, a passing Spaniard in the night, a lot of research has been done, including myself and I cannot find a relative, Eamonn put it out that his father was a Cuban tobacco dealer, but there is no documentary proof.

Brendan

Brendan552004

Where do I go from here:

Her Majestys Courts Services have carried out a search from the lady's death date in 2005, todate, the search was for a copy of her will and a copy of the grant to the estate. There is no record.

I have her correct date of death and the nursing home she died in.

Her husband was a naval architect who worked in Cork and then in West Hartlepool, Durham, he died in 1983. They had a substantial house and no children, I have been told he was a very thrifty man, he was born in Scotland. I would presume he had a reasonable pension which would have carried on to his wife on his death.

Note from HMCC

"Probate refers to the process whereby the executors names in a will (or the next of kin if there was no will) are appointed in law as the administrators of the estate. This allows them to collect in money or assets in the estate, which they are then expected to distribute, having settled any debts and funeral expenses, according to the terms of the will (or the rules of intestacy if there was no will). If probate has not been granted, the Probate Registery will have no record of any will."

I have talked to the graveyard and they have informed me that she paid in advance for her burial, she is not listed on her husbands headstone because there was no one left to order or pay for it. The graveyard was contacted by a firm of solicitors enquiring about her after her death, only problem they do not have the name of the solicitors.

The nursing home will not talk to me quoting the data protection act, I asked them how her nursing home fees were paid and what happened to her personal effects, who was listed on their records as next of kin.

Brendan