My father is remarrying. Do we the children have any rights to his estate if he dies before his new wife?

Question

My mother died 3 years ago. My father is remarrying a much younger woman. ( who has two young kids) Do we the grown children have any rights or standing to make decisions about his burial, estate or affairs. or will the new wife have full authority in these matters ( we live in Texas)

Answer 1

The distribution of his estate will be determined by his will or trust. You need to request that your father make a new one. If his present will names his wife (your mom) as beneficiary, then he needs to re-do it......Tell him you don't care how he distributes is real assests in his will or trust, just make sure he has one...a current one!!!!

My dad made a will 10 years before he died. His wish was that his wife (not my mom) receive the house/.farm, which he figured at the time, was 40% of his estate, and his stocks would be divided among his four children, 15% each. During those 10 years, he became ill, and she quit her job to care for him. (she was 30 years his junior). He never changed his will, which was fine with me..... she was the only woman who ever loved him for who he was rather than for the amount of $$ he could make (he was a doc). But, during those 10 years, all of his stocks had to be sold to support them and his illness. The estate was then thrown into court. I came to her side to try to get it so that the house/farm would still be hers. My siblings, (being the reptiles that they were) wanted her thrown out of the house immediately. Over a year later, I got it settled that she could stay in the house (actually, it was a large farm) as long as she wished, and when she wished to sell, the 60-40 split would be made then and only then. My dad had independently signed the house over to her 2 years before he died, but they got it denied in court!!!!!! It was messy. Wills are sort of complicated. Your dad needs to see an attorney. Short of that, he can write out a will IN HIS OWN HAND, rejecting the will or trust he has now, if he has one...... how he would want his estate divided should he drop dead tomorrow. He then needs to have a couple of friends of his sign each page and date each page, and put it in a safe deposit box. You don't need to know what it contains, only that it exists. This will hold up in court. However, a planned estate (now called a trust) works better. We are all very good at denying our mortality... wills and the like are "ded stuff" and we all hate to think of that.....

Now for a real twist:::::::::: My ex and I divorced, no children, and our wills were 20 years old. We did the divorce ourselves, nothing was listed to be divided, got papers off the internet, everything blank, filed, and we were granted a divorce. But we continued to hold things jointly -- joint checking accounts, joint savings, joint investments, each the beneficiary on our IRAs, I remained the beneficiary to his insurance policy, he paid for the care and boarding of my horse in California, I moved to another state..... etc. Again, none of this was written out or filled in on the divorce papers...... Our 20 year old wills were made when we were flying all over Africa in the late 1980's and figured we'd both die in a plane crash in Kenya somewhere. So, we left it all to 4 charities. We did not revise our wills after our divorce....(mistake) we made our estate together, who but the other deserved it more should one of us die, right???? Besides, most everything was joint, anyway, right???? Between the granting of our divorce, August "04 and the time he was killed in an accident, July '05 he did take out a few things (big investments) in his name only. Even he thought my name was on them!!!!! In California, joint tenancy and beneficiary status FAIL, read again FAIL with divorce..... unless me, as the surviving ex can prove "beyond all reasonable doubt" that the decedent would have wished joint tenancy and beneficiary status to remain. I did have that proof, but it took a year, and $20,000 of attorney fees and a mediation session to prove it. Those 4 charities froze ALL of my assets, and his too!!!! Charities, for christ sake!!!! In the end, against what he really wanted, they got everything that was in his name alone, and cut into some of the things that we held jointly. I came away with a huge chunk of money, but none of our money was meant to be theirs while I was still alive..... frankly, just got tired of learning the law...... and settled at a mediation.

So, should your dad die suddenly, your wishes regarding his burial, distribution of his material household things should be respected by his new wife. ALL of that can be agreed upon in his trust. So, sweetie, get your dad to understand that wills and trusts just make his wishes assured, with no misunderstandings. And to leave it up in the air, is a hostile act on his part....(people, nice people change where there is $$$ involved....) one that you do not want to happen to you and your family.....

Answer 2

If you are worried about all that, you should talk to your father privately. Don't tell him you are worried about inheritance, though. That will annoy him. It's his money to do with as he pleases. But as to his burial, estate and other affairs, you might ask him if he's made a new will to include any of you adult kids in these matters. If he says no, tell him you'd really appreicate it if he would. If he won't, though, you may be out of luck. Maybe, he's already done that!

Answer 3

I do not know of the laws in Texas but I would have to say that you kids should come first in all estate matters. Your father should have a will drawn to make you kids beneficiaries.

Answer 4

If there is no prenuptual or a will the new wife will call all the shots upon his death he if he dies before she does. Consult a lawyer to be on the safe side. Without the will you and your siblings are going to be in for a court battle.

Answer 5

As a wife, she has the right to elect to take up to half of his estate. If you have concerns about this, ask him to re-write his will to garantee you an inheritance, so that the new marriage does not squeeze you out. Ask an attorney.

Answer 6

Your father's last will and testament will direct the distribution of his estate. In the absense of a will, the spouse is a primary probate recipient. It sounds as though you should have a confidential talk with your father if you are concerned.

Answer 7

I would check the will. If he doesn't specifically state that you have those rights, then the new wife will be the one in charge. I would speak to your dad about how you feel, so that everything is known in advance if anything should happen. Good luck.

Answer 8

New wife has full authority. It is up to your father to will to you or his wife/children whatever he feels he wants to. You the adult children have no right to tell him what he should will to you.

Answer 9

My best suggestion would be to contact an actual lawyer and not rely on yahoo answers for such a life altering answer. Many lawyers give free 1/2 hour consultations. It would be in your best interest to take advantage of that.

Answer 10

This is all dependent upon what your father decides and what he puts in the will. This is a sticky situation and one that your father may not be willing to discuss with you. He may take it as a rejection of his new wife.....you have yourself a pickle!

Answer 11

Unless he has a will naming his children to receive certain things and be in charge of his burial, his wife is responsible for his funeral.