Hello there,
My wife’s mom died of a surgical error. My wife never live her but occasionally visited. After mom's death the family filed a malpractice suit without my wife’s knowledge. There was a large settlement awarded to the family. My wife found out about the suit and settlement only after the distribution phase of the process. I want to know shouldn't she has been included in the distribution? Please reply.
thank you so much.

Normally, a malpractice settlement would go into the estate of the deceased and then would be distributed according to the will or through intestate distribution. Your wife may have rights in this instance if she is a legitimate heir.