need some answers

my father passed away 1 year ago my brother and i lived with him growing up. he also had a daughter from first wife which he divorced and the daughter was adopted by her new husband. when our father died he left no will and the daughter filed paper work to be the administator of his estate she got it due to the fact that my brother and i were not thinking right at the time we were trying to put our father to rest and she did not go to furnural. she did this in days of his death. she has sold some of our fathers belonging and took the money instead of putting it in the estate account. we did not even get a chance to go in his house to get any personal things she had already put them in a dumpster she sold most of his things for a little of nothing . How can she do this and get away with it ? Further more how could she legally have anything to do with his estate when she was legally adopted by another man 42 years ago? please help me out. this is in the state of new york.