Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Firsts, how do you know if your father had a will or that you were beneficiaries? It is not mandated that a parent leave assets to their children. Second, did your father have any probate assets? What do you know of that he owned specifically? It may be that whatever he owned was held outside of probate. A house, for example, could be owned as a tenancy by the entirety, a form of ownership only available to husbands and wivews. When one spouse dies, the property passes automatically to the survivor. The same is true of joint checking accounts. So what else would your father have owned to make probate necessary? A car maybe?

Spouses do get some preferential treatment. For example, the spouse could claim the family allowance of $3500 if the estate were probated. If there was no will, then the spouse would get approximately one half of the estate if this estate is in PA. I assume from your question that the wife is not your mother and that your father had no other children with his current spouse. If he did have children with her, she may be entitled to more.

It is not too late to probate a will. However, the wife may have started disposing of assets. If I were you, I would think about what your father owned and if it is worthwhile, I would contact a probate litigation attorney in the county/state where your father lived at the time of his death to compel the wife to file a will and probate an estate if need be. If you cannot afford an attorney then talk to the register of wills at the Orphans' Court (if this is PA) or the clerk of theg probate court and find out if a petition to compel production of the will can be done without an attorney. The register of wills may have forms for this purpose and you will not know until you ask.