Sad story.
On the other side though when my grand father passed away my dad was in charge of what he left, which wasn't a lot. Dad had 3 brothers and two sisters and he sent them checks for about $1500 each with a detailed account of what grampa left and funeral expenses etc deducted.
Dads sisters and brothers lived no where close to grampa but dad did and he took care of him in his final months of life.
One by one all 5 of the checks came back to him with notes attached saying in different words, "you keep the money, you took care of pop when he needed it".
Wow. My 86 year old mother has lived with me for eight years (She requires round the clock care.). My three sisters live a considerable distance away, yet visit when they can. Each of them have expressed the same sentiments as your uncles. They think I deserve everything. Who am I to argue? ;-)