Hazel, I am truly sorry for you, it must be terrible to lose a good husband, and you can do without this.
Unfortunately, my memory of the relevant law has somewhat faded, and it''s hard to advise because one crucial piece of information I would need to know is, who these relatives are and what their relationship to your husband was.
If the house is in your name alone, it does not form part of his estate, and therefore, the relatives cannot have a claim against it.
My recollection, which I can probably confirm easily enough with a bit of research, is that where a person dies without making a will, then the law must. in effect, decide the issue as to who inherits what. It does this by laying down an order of priority. As you would expect, the surviving spouse is first in the queue, but she does not necessarily get everything. She does up to a certain point, and after that, after her basic claims are satisfied, then there may be room for other relatives and again, as you would expect, children are next in the queue.
So really, to advise you, a solicitor will need to know two things :
(a) How much money there is in the estate ;
(b) Which relatives are eligible to inherit after the widow has had her legal entitlement.
It can happen that relatives of a deceased person are able to make a claim against the estate under the Inheritance Family Provision Acts on the grounds that the intestacy did not make provision for their reasonable needs. But the widow always has the advantage in this type of case, and her claims will normally - if not perhaps trump - then certainly have a greater priority than, say, the potential claims of an ex wife or of Great Aunt Bessie.
So then, as the surviving spouse, you are entitled to apply to be the administrator, but you really need to see a solicitor, and, if I may so suggest, if you have not made your will - or even if you have, but it was while your husband was still alive - then, you need to think of a new will when you feel up to it.
And there is the possibility that what these relatives are doing is actionable harrassment, but I think you''ll need a solicitor anyway and quick. These relatives'' behaviour is frankly, disgusting.
As I am leaving for the USA tomorrow I can''t help you more than this.
LMM