Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Iowa

Re: Upon Death

You have no inherent "rights" to his property - that is, in Illinois, he *may*, if he so chooses, disinherit his children entirely. For example, if he has assets in joint tenancy with his wife and he dies first it will go to her by operation of law and she will be under no obligation to leave any of it to you.

*If* your father, however, does nothing and dies with property titled in his SOLE NAME (known as an "intestate estate"), then it would pass 1/2 to his spouse and 1/2 divided among his children (and descendants of a deceased child).

If, like many typical marriages, he holds most of his assets in joint tenancy, you may want to point out to him (tactfully, of course) that if he predeceases her, she will get everything and his kids will get nothing. If he wishes to avoid this result, there are numerous ways to deal with this issue, including the use of trusts, which can provide for lifetime benefit to surviving spouse while preserving that property for the children.

Good luck.

Re: Upon Death

First, an important background consideration: who is your spouse? In Illinois, for probate purposes, the person to whom you are married when you die is your spouse.

Now, to your question: If your father dies without a will, one half of his property will go to his (second) wife. The other half of his property will be divided between his children, who are: his biological children and his adopted children. Illinois law will draw no distinction between children of your father from his marriage to your mother and children from his second marriage. If your father's second wife has children from a previous marriage, then they would not acquire any rights to his estate - unless your father adopted them.

Caveat: this is a very general answer, and one that may not be an exact fit for your circumstances (for example, if one of your siblings is dead, the distribution formula may be a little different depending on whether they had any children). Also, your father has the option of avoiding the distribution scheme that I just described by writing a will and leaving the property to whomever he chooses. The only person who would have a right to alter a will (absent will contest litigation) would be his (second) wife.

Re: Upon Death

He has a right to do with his property as he wishes, including cutting out his children. His *wife* however has a right to renounce a will and force a 1/3 share for herself. His children don't have such a right.

If he dies without a will, half his property *in his name alone* will go to his spouse and half to his descendants.

He *can* enter into a pre-nuptial agreement in which she gives up her right to renounce the will. He doesn't have to. He still has the right to leave things to her.

But the most likely scenario is that they will own everything in joint tenancy, in which case it will go to her as survivor. He doesn't have to do it this way, but he cannot be kept from doing so.