Hmm. If she was married to your father at the time of his death, then she's surely entitled to the widow's share under the intestacy rules.That is the first £250,000 of the estate, for a start. What if she's made a will ? She can give that, plus anything else she's entitled to under the rules and which is transerable, to someone else by will..
Now, I can't think that the law says, that her rights as a beneficiary are defeated merely because she happens to die before there's a grant of letters of administration.The law wouldn't defeat them in a case where the deceased had made a will and all his executors happened to die (intestate or not) before grant of probate so why should it be different in an intestacy ?
If not, what have I missed ?
The taxman will get his money first, before anyone is allowed to administer the estate, ( get title to and then transfer the deceased's property to beneficiaries etc)