Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Connecticut
Father Dead, Stepmother says she gets everything!
I live in CT. My father just passed away leaving no will and only a small life insurance policy for me. He has been married to my stepmother for almost 4 years. My grandmother lives in the house and has living rights to it. My stepmother told me she gets EVERYTHING. She said I will get the life insurance money. And she said the rest (house, car, collections of glass and coins, etc) is all hers. I want to know if I am entitled to anything since there is no will. I am only 22, a full-time student, and I work part-time at a bill payment center. I can't really afford a house or a portion of it. But I want the car and am willing to let her stay in the house as long as I get it when she dies. However, she refuses to talk about the whole thing with me, won't let me see any paperwork, and won't explain to me anything that's going on. I know my father had power of atty of my grandmother and the house was in his name only.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Father Dead, Stepmother says she gets everything!
Hello. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. This is always a tough time, and it's worse when the family members are fighting over things.
As far as your rights, if your father did not have a will, you'll need to look at his deed into the property, to see if your grandmother had a life estate on the land records.
Unfortunately, there is a chance that your stepmother is right - she could be entitled to the entire estate, depending on the size of the estate. When a person dies without a will, his estate passes through intestate succession, and in Connecticut the spouse is entitled to a certain spousal share, before any kids.
Hope that helps. At this point, someone will be handling the probating of the estate. You should talk to this person about your concerns. If your stepmother is not cooperating, contact the local probate court to find out which attorney is handling the probating of your father's estate and then speak to that attorney directly.
Good luck!
Attorney Bartolotta
Re: Father Dead, Stepmother says she gets everything!
Under Connecticut General Statute 45a-437, if a man dies leaving a wife and a child or children who are not also children of the surviving wife (and there's no will), then the surviving wife gets one half and the children get one half. So assuming you are correct about title to the house, your step-mother is wrong. She doesn't get everything, she gets half and you get half. That's also true of other property in his name alone (bank accounts, cars, etc.). Things that were in joint names, hoever, do go to the step-mother completely). If you call me, I'll discuss it with you.
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