My husband recently inherited almost $100,000 from his uncle.?

Question

He was appointed executor of the estate. I traveled to California with him to help settle affairs and arrange the estate sale. This took over one month. In the following months, I assisted with phone calls and correspondence. We reside in the state of Illinois. My husband deposited the entire inheritance funds into his personal checking account. Am I entitled to a portion of these funds immediately, or do I have to wait until he decides to compensate me for my time and effort? I assume that if anything were to happen to him, the money would automatically go to me (if there is any left after he is finished blowing it). Just in case any serious marital problems arise, what are my rights to this money?

Wow, most of you are acting like a lynch mob. Let me give you a little more information. Yes, we do occasionally have marital problems like most couples. We live in Illinois which IS a community property state, we have been married a little over 3 years, but have been together for over 7 years. I have stuck with him through the lean times, taking money from my own business income to pay joint bills, while his venture kept burying us in debt. We now own and operate a joint venture, which has a lot of potential for profit. We both contribute EQUALLY to the operations required to produce income. My ONLY concern with the inheritance money is that it will be squandered. I don't really care if I get anything, but I refuse to stand by and watch it pissed away on candy and toys. Yes, it is his money and he can do as he pleases. But I helped seal the deal with his uncle before he passed on. They had not seen each other in years & uncle would have left him $0 if not for my positive influence.

Answer 1

OK Brenda,
First off, I certainly hope that you are NOT solely relying on yahoo.answers for your legal rights. If your marriage is hitting the skids, I strongly recommend professional legal help. If the marriage is indeed strong, then we have a different story. Theres really nothing to worry about, RIGHT?
BTW: Illinois is NOT a community property state. (see link below,) it is considered a equitable distribution state, that's different. So even if you divorce you may not see the money. As for you receiving compensation, that's totally up to him. Did you stop working to help him? Did he say he would pay you? If the answer is no to both questions, then I don't think you should get anything. Now if he is a good husband and person, he would want to show his appreciation, maybe buy you a new car or some jewelry. If he's a REALLY good guy, he would simple give you half. But as we all know, there are very few really good guys out there.
Bottom line here is you need a reality check here. Decide whats more important, your marriage or the money. If it's the money, go find a lawyer. If it's the marriage, go find your husband right now and SHOW him how much you love him. Don't forget to tell him that he is the most generous man you have ever known.
Best of luck,
Inodat

Answer 2

As the executor of the will did he inherit this money or is this the entire estate? First thing your husband needs to do if I'm not mistaken is settle any liabilities his uncle had. After that he is distribute the assets as stated in the will, he is also entitled to compensation as the executor. You should get paid for assisting him, however, this compensation isn't going to be anywhere near what you are thinking it's going to be. If the inheritance was left to your husband and you were not mentioned in the will it is his, you will only be paid for assisting him. Of course since you are husband and wife it is both of yours unless Illinois is one of those states that doesn't view property as common to both spouses. I'm betting you two will be divorced within a year, unless something "happens" to your husband.

Answer 3

Entitled to compensation? I thought you did all that because you loved him. Nevertheless, I'm sure all that money will go for needs for the both of you. I took time off work when my Mother in law died. I never got any compensation. There wasn't any money anyway, but I figured anything she had should go to her kids and grandkids. I got some items of hers that really had no meaning to me, but did to her granddaughters. One was a jewelry box(I don't even wear jewelry). One of her granddaughters loved it, so I told her she could have it, but she denied. I was uncomfortable getting anything, because I didn't get to know her all that well, and I wasn't one of her kids, so her things didn't really mean anything to me.

But the fact that you're assuming he's going to blow it all tells me maybe there are serious marital problems right now. With all the expenses incurred by not working, neither of you, for a month, the phone bills, and any debts your uncle may have had, there may not be anything left. The first concern should be paying whatever is owed.

Answer 4

Yes there is a chance that your baby will be diabetic, about a 50/50 chance to be more precise. However, I think that if you want a child, you should go ahead and have one. With all the new techniques in medicine today, a diabetic can live an almost normal life. My grandmother on my father's side was a diabetic. Out of their six children, my father,his brother and one of his sisters are or were diabetics. My Father died of heart problems at the age of 64. My parents had seven children. Of those , only one has proven to be a diabetic thus far. At this time our ages range from 37 to 60. The sixty year old was recently diagnosed with diabetes. All of us check our sugar regularly, about every three months, and none of the rest of us have shown signs of diabetes to date.None of my parent's grandchildren or great grandchildren are diabetic at ths time.

Answer 5

Oooh...that's tough. Technically the money is his since it was left to him by his uncle but he is an absolute jerk to not share it. That's probably it in a nut shell. You could just gently remind him how much work you put into it and see if he'll share but legally you don't have a leg to stand on. Do you usually share money? Do you both work and then spend the money you each make separately or do you have a combined pool? If it's always separate, it's a little more understandable but still a jerky thing to do. Don't let money come between you, but you should mention how much you helped in getting the money.

Answer 6

Gee, I had no idea a wife could bill her husband for services rendered! Shootfire, I'm sitting here trying to figure out how much I owe for x years of dishes, laundry, childbearing, cooking, cleaning....get the drift?

Seriously, tho...don't 'assume' anything about inheritance unless your husband has a will naming you. Not all states have the same inheritance laws with regard to spouses... 'survivor takes all' may not be cast in concrete, and you might wind up fighting off one of your husband's nieces or nephews for the loot.

Hope your hubby has the sense to park that chunk in safe & boring municipal bonds...and that he can afford a food-taster and Kevlar jammies, just in case you can't wait for your 'rights'.

Answer 7

it sounds like you might have seroius marital problems if you this isnt something that you can work out. the funds should right now be joint funds and you should both decide what to do with the money (invest, save, etc.) Unless of course he had worked something out with his uncle before and it's money that his uncle wanted to give him to follow a dream, start a business or something. But again, i would think all major decisions should be discussed with his wife.

if you split up, that will be considered in your joint funds, so yes - if the court were to rule you split assets then you would get half i would think

Answer 8

You should look into the states law but fro all you are desribing - you were working as a partner with him.
And most marital laws say you are entitled to half of what your spouse has. This is why most rich people get prenuptuals.
do a couple of searches online about inheritances and spouses.

Tax man will want a ton of that money.

Answer 9

How selfish of your husband. If your newly married I could understand that he would keep the lot of it in his account BUT still he should have given you something for your own time and the trouble you placed yourself through for him.. It would not have hurt him to place 10 thousand or so in your account
I think that you will find that your entitled to half of everything that is made or brought into the household during the marriage. Lord knows if it was an IRS bill they would nab you for half if not all ...

Whats really sad is this is most likely the start of the end of your marriage if you push that card ...talk with a Lawyer quickly

Answer 10

If your husband was the sole executor and/or his name is the only one on the will (i.e. You are not mentioned) than it is his money. He is not required to give you any of it. However, he should do something for you because you did help.

Now if the will or estate has both of your names listed, than yes, you are entitled to half of it unless an actual amount or percentage was specified.