Liz, where do you get this stuff that you propound as being the truth?

What you say above is far from being the case under the laws of England and Wales (of which I assume you were speaking). Whether it used to be the case at some stage I can't say, but it seems unlikely.

As Jane (Mrs Duck) said, if a married man dies intestate, everything goes automatically to the wife, up to a value of £125,000. Over that value, his children and other relatives may have a claim. This may be where Liz got the idea of a widow's house being sold- this could happen (if the house was not held in joint names) to share the assets between children and other relatives. But the widow would NOT be left with nothing.

Liz, I do think you should check your information before you claim to be an authority- one day people might believe you.