Recently found shares. Who should claim them?

Shelldean

Will try and keep this short!
Elderly couple marry, second marriage for both with adult children from their previous marriages.
Man dies in 2004. Most things are in joint names which all pass to wife who is joint holder. A few things in just his name also pass to wife.
Not including the joint assets, estate is very small with no will, so letters of administration not applied for.
Wife dies in 2014. No will. Estate much larger and requires letters of administration. These are applied for and granted to her grandchild. As her only child had predeceased her.  Grandchild administers the estate and it is shared according to interstate, to her three grandchildren.

2020 executor receives a letter asking if they know the husband as unbeknownst to everyone he held shares. He fills in forms, and attached a letter stating the time line above. And also includes death certificate for both husband and wife, and probate for wife.
The company wrote back and ask for the death death certificate of the informant on husband's death certificate. (His adult son) 
Executor write back stating not relevant.
The chain of events shows everything from husband, passed to wife. Then wife to her grandchildren. Informant death certificate not needed.
They eventually reply asking again for informants death certificate.
Executor has written again, clearly stating it's not needed and why. They are currently waiting for another reply!

But are they correct?
If shares had been known about when husband died, they would've either been transferred or sold by wife. Then when she died, either the shares or the funds would've passed to her grandchildren?
The adult children of the husband aren't included due to interstate rules? So the company requesting the death certificate of the adult son who was the informant for his father's death, is not needed surely?

theoretica

Do you have an indication of the share value - at the time of husband's death?  If high then some of it might have gone to his son by intestate. 

Shelldean

theoretica said:

Do you have an indication of the share value - at the time of husband's death?  If high then some of it might have gone to his son by intestate. 

Nope they won't disclose anything to us, just keep asking for the informants death certificate!
Not totally sure on the value of husband's estate but without the joint stuff I'd say easily under 10k so the shares would have to be worth loads for them to be payable to the husband's children

TonyMMM

Why not just send them a copy of the death certificate they want to see .... surely the easiest way to move things forward ?

Dox

TonyMMM said:

Why not just send them a copy of the death certificate they want to see .... surely the easiest way to move things forward ?

Quite. Death certificates are hardly secret or confidential, so if that's what it takes to keep them happy, why make such a big deal of it?

theoretica

There is nothing in the OP to indicate the husband's son isn't still alive.

Shelldean

TonyMMM said:

Why not just send them a copy of the death certificate they want to see .... surely the easiest way to move things forward ?

Because quite simply we don't know if he is alive or deceased!
There was very minimal contact after the husband died, despite  them saying nothing would change (couple were married for over 25 years)
By the time the wife died there was no contact at all. We have no addresses, or other information on this family!
And while I could search for his death certificate (if he has died) it's a common name so wouldn't be able to distinguish the woods from the trees.
Also I feel whether he is dead or alive, his death certificate of dead is irrelevant, isn't it?

Shelldean

theoretica said:

There is nothing in the OP to indicate the husband's son isn't still alive.

We honestly don't know his status. Their father died in 2004, contact immediately dropped to a very bare minimum. And by the time she was hospitalised in either 2008 or 2009 there was no contact.
They also have a reasonably common surname, so searching would be difficult!

Shelldean

Also if it is due to the husband's family, then so be it, but the search company can search for them, by themselves! 
They was told in the first letter that firstly it's believed that the informants death cert is irrelevant, and secondly that no contact details were held for that person. 

Flugelhorn

almost sounds like whoever is dealing with this doesn't really understand the process of inheritance in and intestate case like this - they perhaps are thinking that the son could / would have inherited. 

Shelldean

Flugelhorn said:

almost sounds like whoever is dealing with this doesn't really understand the process of inheritance in and intestate case like this - they perhaps are thinking that the son could / would have inherited. 

This how we interpreted the letter. But it's been clearly explained to them, especially in the second letter. Which a response to is still waiting for!

I just wanted to confirm my thoughts on the matter were correct!
Husband leaves all to wife, wife leaves all to her heirs. Husband's children do not inherit as they are not the wife's children. 
Anyone can be an informant for a death. In another death in the family it was the matron of the nursing home. Would they also expect the death certificate in that caae??