Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana
Spousal Abandonment
The husband was to go into surgery for lung cancer on March 7th, for several months prior to that, the wife refused to go to the doctor or help in any way. His daughter took him to all doctors appointments, signed all consent forms. The wife refused to take him to the hospital on March 7th of the surgery. The wife stayed with him for that day and vistited approximately 3 to 4 time after wards in the first week after that she abandoned him at the hospital refusing to go see him and moved out of their house into a homeless shelter. She only called a few times to ask what his time limit on death was. His daughter signed and authorized all medical releases and procedures. He died on April 18th. After that she decided to take control of the house and all the belongings including the assest that he broght into the marriage from his previous wife that had passed away. His previous wife passed away in october of 1997 and he married this one in January of 1998. She has a history of this. Is there any way to get her for abandonment and take control of the propery. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Spousal Abandonment
In the state of Indiana, all property which was aquired since the date of marriage to the point of separation is considered marital property. While one may argue that certain items were never to be considered as marital property, that option does appear present in the facts prsented here as on of the spouses has died. It would now seem that this is an estate matter. If a will was not made by the party who died, then the property will pass through Indiana's rules of intestate succession. If there are any children or heirs of the first marriage, they may wish to consider consulting an estate attorney of the matter.
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