step son refuses to be next of kin .

RAS

It is very much going to depend on exactly what Gran's will said. Likely to be that the third left to the son goes to his second wife after his debts are paid.

But if there are doubts that's when a quick consultation with a lawyer would be a good idea. They may only need  scan and a quick phone call.

Certainly, the funeral costs would be the first call on the money.

TonyMMM

The police have no interest at all in who might pay for a funeral - they just need to Inform a relative.

alfmurph

Apparently there are debts . £1400 water bill for a start .
Also there might be a problem as grans house is in scotland but father lived in england . He rented .
Also i believe father moved in with his mum when she became ill a few months ago and so he was sorting out her life insurance policy .
£6000 .
He has probably drunk and gambled this .

DE_612183

alfmurph said:

Apparently there are debts . £1400 water bill for a start .
Also there might be a problem as grans house is in scotland but father lived in england . He rented .
Also i believe father moved in with his mum when she became ill a few months ago and so he was sorting out her life insurance policy .
£6000 .
He has probably drunk and gambled this .

It looks like he ( your step son )  and his uncle need to sort out Grans estate first and find out what each is entitles to - obviously if the one brother has removed funds from the estate before it's settled this need to be taken into account.

Once that is sorted, then whatever is left needs to passed to your Step Sons fathers estate, and again this will be settled ( probably between him and the 2nd ex-wife - assuming there is no will ).

Anyway, there is a set order in which things needs to happen - whatever debts and spending valid they will be taken into account.

DE_612183

You also need to look at this un-emotionally if possible - you state the father was a liar, cheater thief - this makes no difference really - he did also move in with his mother - could have been selfish on his part - but no body else helped her out when she was ill...

RAS

alfmurph said:

Apparently there are debts . £1400 water bill for a start.
Also there might be a problem as grans house is in scotland but father lived in england . He rented .

Gran's house was in Scotland, did she also live there? Does the water bill debt refer to Gran's house or father's estate? 

Obviously Gran's estate needs confirmation under Scottish law as the house is there. Who did she appoint as executor(s)?

There are a few quite knowledgeable people on here who have helped people DIY Confirmation, if anyone needs a pointer.

Once Gran is sorted out, someone (probably spouse) needs to sort out father's estate, depending whether he's considered resident in England or Scotland.

Mojisola

RAS said:

Once Gran is sorted out, someone (probably spouse) needs to sort out father's estate, depending whether he's considered resident in England or Scotland.

It's a weird situation but no-one has a legal obligation to sort out a deceased's estate. 
With this history, it would make sense for the son to just get on with his life without getting involved in the mess. 

Gers

RAS said:

alfmurph said:

Apparently there are debts . £1400 water bill for a start.
Also there might be a problem as grans house is in scotland but father lived in england . He rented .

Gran's house was in Scotland, did she also live there? Does the water bill debt refer to Gran's house or father's estate? 

Obviously Gran's estate needs confirmation under Scottish law as the house is there. Who did she appoint as executor(s)?

I can't help much with the legalities of the situation - however, the water bill won't be from a property in Scotland, we still pay water rates in with council tax.

alfmurph

Your correct about no water rates in scotland . All in with council tax .
Grans house is in scotland .
Her son has lived in england for at least ten years . Rented house .
My step son says his gran would be upset that some former wife of her son who she has never met might be entitled to one third of her estate .
My step son is in his house in saudi trying to read and understand  his grans will ..
He is going to arrange a zoom call appointment with grans lawyer who is also an executor of grans will .
How long would it take to accumulate £1400's worth of water bills .Sounds like he has not paid anything for years .
He was also on government benefits as he was unemployed .

alfmurph

He actually had a long term girl friend up here in scotland .
A plain girl , overweight with not much self confidence .
She just happened to inherit £100k recently .
Turns out he has been physically and mentally abusing her for over 2 weeks now ..
She found him with 2 bottles of brandy and a packet of paracetamols .