Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
My father in law just recently died. He had been diagnosed with dementia for about 10 years with a steady decline in his mental status. He remarried about 12 years ago to woman who was very wealthy and they had a prenuptial agreement. SHe now has faltering mental status and her executor of her estate (her nephew who happens to inherit all of her estate) appears to have taken control of her assets. During the course of her marriage to my father in law, she appeared to have bought and sold and then bought more properties. She had a quick claim deed done to the house they shared and bought together and removed my father in laws name from it. WHen we confronted the nephew about it they put his name back on it, now it appears to not be on it at the time of his death. My father in laws family has been kept in the dark about all possible monies, wills, living trusts etc. This nephew initially refused to pay for any funeral costs. The family is wondering if there is any reason to think there might be estate monies that belong to his children and how does one find out if the executor/wife wont say anything. The only will we have a copy of was from his first marriage. Would his children be entitled to any monies from within the marriage?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Sorry for your loss. You could demand that all estate planning documents or at least copies be given to the children of your father-in-law. If they continued to refuse, then you could try and force the issue by petitioning to have the Will you have in your possession probated.
If the title to the house was in joint tenancy, then your father-in-law's name legally could be removed from title by your step-mother-in-law filing an affidavit of death of joint tenant.
Whether your spouse is entitled to anything from the marriage between your father-in-law and step-mother-in-law depends on the estate planning documents, the marital agreement and the characterization of the assets (community property v. separate property) owned by your father-in-law at his death.
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