This is a tricky one and I am just wanting to know if anyone has any ideas...
My Dad is pretty wealthy and although he left my mum when I was 4, I live a few minutes down the road from him and we finally have a good relationship. He pays for the odd brunch etc, and buys small birthday gifts for me and my children, but he has never been a generous person in the slightest.
He is on his third marriage and although his wife is lovely and the godmother of my eldest child, she is still not family and she is the most stingy person I have met.
She is English and quite a bit younger and healthier than him and she has said that when my Dad dies (which I am presuming will likely be in the next 15 years) she will return to live in England. She has a 30 year old son in London who she has probably seen 4 times in 20 years. My Dad doesn't have a will, and when he dies I presume everything he owns will be left for his wife. She will return to England and I don't think for a second she will keep in contact with us. She has 7 siblings, her son, and a million nieces and nephews.
When she dies it will all go to her son.
I can't talk to my Dad about a will or about any of this as he is really weird about death. I don't want to have gone so many years growing up with my Mum - we had NO money at all - having this wealthy but tight father and be completely left in the cold financially.
If there is no will, can I apply for some of my father's estate when he dies? Do I have a leg to stand on? Does anyone have any advice or have been in a similar situation?