Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Will

My husband is very sick....he has made out a will, he has 7 children, we have a business, in the will he left 51% to me and 49% to 1 of his sons.....

Could you please explain to me exactly what this means and where I stand......Thank you


Asked on 11/15/06, 11:26 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Peter Dempsey Peter M. Dempsey, Attorney At Law

Re: Will

What it means id that you have a 51% percent ownership in the business, assuming the business was a sole operation or a partnership. if the business was a corporation, it may mean that your late husband left 51% of the stock to you. I suspect that you have a difficult situation here in terms of probating the estate. You really should contact me for a consultation.

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Answered on 11/15/06, 1:02 pm

Re: Will

It is unclear whether your husband is a sole proprietor, corporation or a partnership with you. If he owns the business it means you will own controling interest in the business and his son will own 49% of the business.

If you already owned part of the business, the he left 51% of his interest in the business to you and 49% to his son.

Basically, you still own controling interest of the business. However, if it is a corporation, your ability to sell it may be limited depending upon the articles of incorporation.

It is however not unusual if a son works in a business for the father to leave him a minority interest as he has done here.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 11/15/06, 5:24 pm


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