my late husband received a letter from solicitors who are executors to
his deceased aunts estate in Cornwall UK, advising that the estate is
now in probate and that he is a beneficiary to the will.What does
happen in these cases? Are my daughter and self entitled? We were
married over 36 years and moved to Australia in 1971.He died in
December 2000.There are a few more entitled beneficiaries I believe.

This will depend on how the Will has been written.

It may specify that only those beneficiaries who are living will be so
entitled; or not.

You should ask to see a copy of the Will.

It is a little more complex than this, depending on both how the will
was written and the status of the other beneficiaries.

If anything it would be most likely that you may be entitled, but not
your daughter.

Generally, a will will state one of 2 things:

1) That x will benefit and, if they are deceased at the date of death
of the person who made the will, then their share reverts to the other
beneficiaries.

In this case, neither you nor your daughter would be entitled to
anything and this would be divided between the others named in the
will.

2) That x will benefit and, if they are deceased then their share will
pass to their own estate. (there are several variations on this
"theme")

In this case, the beneficiary of your late husband's estate would be
entitled to the proceeds.  In 90% of circumstances this means you.

As probono states, you need to see the original will and seek your own
legal advice.  A will is a public document (in the UK - not sure about
other countries) and so you can readily obtain a copy for your own
perusal.  In most cases, though, a quick phone call to the executors
should be sufficient to answer your question.