Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
I am divorced. My husband remarried and had 2 more children. One child from both marriages has died. He and his wife are beginning to make arrangements in their will for the remaining 2 children. He is father of both, but they have separate mothers. My child has been very active in his new familysince she was 7 yrs old and has always treated his wife as her second mother and both of his children were "her brothers". No qualifying "half" or "step" terminology ever used. She has been told that because she will inherit something from me, her father and his wife plan to leave the bulk of their estate to their biological son, and very little to the his biological daughter. What, if any, rights does his daughter have? Could she contest the will? Do you have any advice on how or if she should approach her father about this issue?
2 Answers from Attorneys
I feel for your daughter; as a child of a first marriage, I had something similar happen to me, and it's actually pretty common. I personally don't think that treating one's children unequally is the way to go (although if she is an adult and he has contributed financially to her education, and the son hasn't gone to college yet, that might be a rational reason) but your daughter is is not entitled to inherit equally from her father. People don't have to leave their estates to their children at all if they don't want to. She might want to try to tell him how much this hurts her and persuade him to change his mind (and if her brother is an adult, she can try to enlist him to her point of view) but she should tread carefully.
N.B. This is not legal advice.
There is no right for a child to inherit anything. The decision is up to her party electing to make the will or trust as to whether a gift will be made or not.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
