Last will

An uncle of mine intestate. His wife had died many years ago and they had no children so no direct heirs.

His wife's relatives had no claim on his estate.

He had been one of two brothers and two sisters, but only one sister was still alive. His other sister and his brother had had children (sister two, brother three)

His estate was divided into three (for his three siblings) His sister got one third of it, the two children of his other sister got half each of another third, and the three children of his brother got a third each of the last third.

Thank you very much merlotgran.
the one i am interesting in is two nieces and one nephew whose mother was the sister of the deceased's late wife. Are they entitle to a share?. bare in mind the person who claimed to be the cousin of the deceased not a direct cousin because the deceased had no brothers or sisters.

Many thanks a gain.

The nieces and nephews have to be blood relatives of the deceased, tanjawi, not his wife. If he had no siblings then the line begins with his parents. The descendants of any of their siblings are entitled to inherit.

For example: If the deceased's father had two siblings and his mother had one, that's a total of three. After costs, the estate is divided by three. If they are dead their share (one third) is divided between their children and so on.

Here is a page which sets out who can inherit and who can't.
www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/relationships_e/relationships_death_and_wills_e/who_can_inherit_if_there_is_no_will___the_rules_of_intestacy.htm

Relations by marriage can't, so the two nieces and one nephew whose mother was the sister of the deceased's late wife will not inherit, they are not blood relations of the man who left no will. If his wife were still alive, she would be entitled to a large share of his estate, but her sister's family are not.

If the deceased had no brothers or sisters, he could still have cousins because they would be the children of his aunt or uncle (if he had aunts or uncles). These would be blood relations to him.

It seems to me that this cousin or cousins would be first in line, but you may be able to work it out from the link I gave. You know the family relationships better yourself than I do.