In such an event, the probate court will have to make the determination as to who should be appointed as the personal representative of the estate. Most jurisdictions have a list of acceptable people who can act as PR's and the order in which they should be named, although many times the judge has a certain amount of discretion over this (e.g. a spouse over a sibling, a sibling over a neice/nephew, etc.). At this point you should contact the probate court to seek further information on all of this or at least contact a probate attorney in the are and arrange for a consultation.