Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
patent life
my husband owns a patent and if he dies what
happens to patent??? do i inherit it automatically
or should he assign it to me??? i run the business that markets the patent
Asked on 4/06/00, 10:12 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
Alvin Lundgren
Alvin R. Lundgren, L.C.
Re: patent life
Generally patents are treated as personal property and will pass to the spouse, however since you have one court which manages estates and another which manages patents there can be problems.
The smart thing to do is get an attorney to do some estate planning for you. The patent could be placed in a trust which would then hold title until both of you die, then pass to the heir of your choice.
Answered on 4/19/00, 9:41 pm