i could be wrong, but i thought inheritance only applied to homestead markers/ claims not leantoos?
if this is correct then of course there wont be an inheritance for you to recieve. if im wrong, then there should be one, so submit a bug report.
this game has some bugs, especially concerning logging out. sometimes ive had buddies, who logged out properly, yet their character stayed online at their homestead. this might be what happened to you, if so, and if it was a leantoo, then all anyone would have to do is walk up and murder you, if they can murder, then tresspassing (i necessary) is a given. you have been given atleast 5 different reasons as to why you could be dead. im sure its one of them. if the character is no longer on your character select screen, you are dead. as this is in beta, i seriously doubt the devs will replace the character or even bother trying to accomodate you at all, not because they dont care, but because this is the mentality of beta! bugs happen.
but i would be more inclined to believe, you accidentally walked onto someones homestead, with criminal acts enabled, and was summoned for that offense and killed, or you logged out and the game stuck your character online, and you were killed by a passerby, or something similar to the 2 i just listed. i know it sucks, but hopefully you arent too invested into that toon, and from what you describe you were doing and livinng still in a leantoo, i can guess your not, just reroll another, and drive on with the knowledge, that it will be easier to level because of what you have learned on the first.
good luck out there.