What is a child’s right to their father’s estate if he remarried and then died without a Will in a community property state?
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What is a child’s right to their father’s estate if he remarried and then died without a Will in a community property state?
Father died with no Will; 3 living children from my father’s previous marriage. After my mother died 24 years ago, he sold off all the marital property and remarried a year later. He eventually moved out of state with his new wife. They purchased a home there and I guess because of no Will and being in a community property state, his new widow found out she could not just sell off everything. She is now asking my dad’s children from a previous marriage to sign away their rights to his estate.
Asked on November 29, 2011 under Estate Planning, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In most states in this country when a person dies without a Will, his or her estate must be administered through the intestacy process of the probate court in the county and state where the person last resided before passing.
In an intestacy process, the assets of one who has dies are given in degrees to those closest releated, namely wife and children (natural and adopted). From what you have written, you and your siblings most likely are entitled to a portion of your father's estate under the intestacy laws of the state where he last resided upon death.
I suggest that you consult with an attorney in the county and state experienced in Wills and trusts where your father last resided. If you want to inherit from your father's estate, I would not sign away any rights to it without first knowing what assets there are and the estimated value.
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