LAWS OF INTESTACY

[pollyanna1]

Hi can anyone help me with the following - my mother died a widow in 1990. I had/have 5 siblings. One predeceased my mother leaving no children, one predeceased my mother and left 3 children, one brother outlived my mother leaving a wife but no children, one brother outlived my mother leaving 2 children and the other one outlived my mother leaving neither a spouse or children. The brother that outlived my mother leaving neither a spouse nor children predeceased my sister who left 2 children. I know it's a bit of a jumble but can anyone tell me in plain language who is entitled to what under the laws of intestacy? The reason for the delay in administering my mother's estate is due to family arguments.

Thanks

[factor-fiction]

Have I understood this correctly. Are you saying that your mother died as a widow in 1990 and her estate has not yet been administered/distributed?

[pollyanna1]

yes its not a big estate but it was all due to my sister arguing about certain issues but she died last year so it can all be sorted now

[buildersmate]

The estate is split equally in four ways - between the four children who were living at the date of your mother's death. (The estate of sibling 1 is due nothing).
The children of sibling 2 (who was due 25%) are therefore each due 8.33% - as there are 3 of them.
The brother (sibling 3) was left 25% - what he did with it depends on the terms of his will.
'the other' (sibling 4) was left 25%.
You (sibling 5) were left 25%.
The fact that a brother predeceased your sister has no impact whatsoever.

[pollyanna1]

oops i've put brother instead of sister in my original post but I suppose it doesn't matter

[pollyanna1]

buildersmate - there were 6 of us, one got lost somewhere along the way in your answer, sorry to be a pain but could you go through it again

[buildersmate]

Ah, I see.
Under intestacy rules, the estate is split equally between those children living at the date of death, so the estate of child 1 in your second sentence gets nothing.
If a child of your mother died before her but left three children, they share the proportion that their parent would have been entitled to.
So the estate is split 5 ways - 20% to each of 4 living children including yourself.
The remaining 20% is split equally (6.66% each) to the three children left by the one who predeceased your mother.

[pollyanna1]

thank you buildersmate, your answer is very helpful.