Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

His 1/9 is part of his estate, and goes according to his will or according to the law.

Your parents' estates should have been probated and administered, so that debts have been paid and the assets in their estates would / should have been distributed to the heirs. Then no question would arise about who gets the fractional interest of an heir to your parents' estates.

This response is not legal advice, since I do not have all of the information that would be required, and I do not have a representation agreement with you.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

When did your parents and brother die? If the parents died well before your brother, then his your share of your parents estate would already have been distributed to your brother. If your brother died, then your brother's estate would pass to your brother's wife and children per your brother's will or via state intestacy laws.

If your brother died before your parents, I would need to see what your parents' wills advised about what happens if one of their heirs died.

Assuming that neither parent had a will, then all of your parents' children would inherit. If your brother died before your parents, then most states have "anti-lapse" statutes which basically provide that a person's children can inherit the share of their deceased parent. What this means is that your brother's share would pass to any of his children, but not his wife, if there was no will or if nothing was specified in the will.

If your parents had wills, read their wills. Some parents do want to benefit the spouses of their children, but some don't. The will also might contain language regarding survivorship such as (one share is left to each of my children provided that they survive me). The will might then specify what will happen if a child does not survive and might provide that if a child dies, then the property goes to the remaining surviving children. Or the will could allow any children of your brrother to inherit.

What I would do if you are not sure if take the wills of your parents to a probate attorney in the state and county where your parents resided at the time of their death. That will tell you what happens to their property. If they had no wills, then give the lawyer as much information about where your parents and brother lived at the time of their deaths and the date of their deaths so that the lawyer can better advise you as to whether your brother's wife gets to inherit anything at all.

Without looking at anything, if there was no wills and no probate when the parents died and they died over a year ago, and the children just all took over, and your brother just died, then the answer would be no, the brother's wife cannot inherit directly. BUT the wife would be entitled to inherit a piece of whatever your brother owned if he had no will. That means that if your parents owned a 90 acre farm that was kept intact, 1/9th of it would pass to your brother. If the children kept farming and paid taxes and then your brother died with no will, then your brother's 1/9th share of the land would pass to your brother's wife and children as per the state intestacy laws.