claim on an estate in scotland

[whiskychick]

A very good friend of mine recently lost her partner who she had been living with for 18 months in his house.The house is paid for so there is no mortgage. He separated from his wife 4 years ago and she received a substantial amount of money on separation. He never changed his will and therefore all of his estate will now go to his next of kin named as his wife. It seems unfair as she has already had a settlement and will now receive another one when the house is sold. My friend has been advised to claim some part of the estate even though she was only with him for 18 months. She is apprehensive about doing this as she is under the impression that 18 months is not long enough to qualify for a share and she doesn't want to go through the hassle and financial cost of a solicitor. During the time she was living with him she contributed to the cost of running the house, bills and council tax. She has been lucky enough to find alternative rented accommodation otherwise she would have been left homeless. I would really like to advise her of the right way to go about putting in a claim but don't want her to have to pay solicitors fees as well as going through the upset and everything as she is still grieving. I think the law may be different in Scotland but I'm really not sure. Can anyone advise me how to go about getting her to do something. My attitude is nothing ventured nothing gained but she is feeling very fragile at the moment and I fear time may be running out.