Death of my sons dad in the Philippines

looneytunes123456

Hi.
I'm hoping someone can help a little please. I've rung everyone and cannot get any answers. 
My sons dad lives in the Philippines,  he is married with a child. He unexpectedly died this week. He holds English bank accounts, and has work pensions. The wife was saying she had no money, so the in laws gave her the details of English bank to use, all in his name only. His death has not been registered in the UK. Wife says there is no Will, but there definitely used to be in UK. 
My ex always said my son is in the Will. 
He owns, property, land and businesses in Philippines. He was only 56 when he died and had good work pensions, that were due next year. Obviously we have no info on banks, wills, or anything. Can the wife just take everything? And not tell anyone that he has a son in UK.
I do not have the money to get a solicitor. 
Don't know what to do 😔 
He was cremated within 24hrs and death certificate has been released. 
Many thanks.

RAS

Would the English will about which you know have been written before he married in the Philippines?

Marriage invalidates previous wills.

DullGreyGuy

A marriage invalidates a prior will in the UK, you can make a will in anticipation of a marriage but it's highly explicit to the particular marriage not some future random person you marry. 

Presumably he was resident and domiciled in the Philippines? 

Multi-national probate is a complex thing, his country of domicile typically takes the initial lead, in some cases England can just reseal a foreign probate but that tends to be more commonwealth countries and for assets here a UK probate will be required too. 

It appears that in the Philippines there are compulsory heirs but you need to check with someone who understands their law properly and not someone who's randomly googled something.

Ayr_Rage

You say you know there was a will in the UK, when was that made and were you married at the time?

As above, any subsequent marriage automatically invalidates a previous will.

Regarding the pensions, it will depend on where they are held and the type as to whether they can be be transferred as cash or a widows/dependant pension paid to whoever is nominated by the deceased or agreed by the trustees.

It sounds very suspicious that if he had an established life in the Philippines his wife did not have access to any money.

You will need proper legal advice and a great deal of cooperation from his family and wife.

Good luck.

mattojgb

Is it possible that you were nominated to receive any death benefits due from the pensions? You may want to contact the pension companies and advise them of the death.

Keep_pedalling

You son is entitled to inherit under Philippine inherency laws whether there is a will or not. Interestingly legitimate children are treated ahead of spouses and illegitimate children which seems unfair especially for a spouse in financial difficulty.

https://lawyerphilippines.org/compulsory-heirs-under-philippine-law/

looneytunes123456

Thank you all your replies. I have found out more and it doesn't look good for my son. How do I inform the Philippines probate service about my son? If his wife doesn't.
Many thanks 

silvercar

If you know where the UK bank account is held plus any UK pensions, then inform them of the death. That should put a hold on the accounts in the short term.

Marcon

Some (not all) of this might make useful/relevant reading and/or give you helpful contact details: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/philippines-bereavement-pack/philippines-bereavement-guide#:~:text=Next%20of%20Kin,-The%20next%20of&text=In%20the%20Philippines%2C%20the%20death,of%20the%20person%20who%20died.