My husbands brother died a few years ago and we have just learned that is wife had filed and won a wrongful death suit. Does any of the other family

I do not practice in the State of Missouri, but I think the answer to your question would be the same in any state, and it has to do with the legal bond that is formed as the result of a marriage.  When two people marry they become a single legal entity.  When one spouse dies intestate (without a Will), the surviving spouse is entitled to all of the deceased spouse's assets.  Depending on the type of assets and how they were held, sometimes an estate needs to be opened to transfer the ownership of that asset to the surviving spouse.  In the case of a wrongful death lawsuit, an estate needs to be opened to allow the personal representative to sue in the name of the estate.  Unless your husband was a named beneficiary in your brother-in-law's Last Will and Testament, then he would not have a claim to any portion of his brother's estate.