Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Home Ownership After Death

To answer your question, I would need to see a copy of the deed to your house. It's very likely that you own the house as tenants by the entirety, which means that if you die first, your husband would own 100% of the house and your kids would get nothing. You could prevent that by changing the deed to tenants-in-common.

It sounds like you did not consult a lawyer prior to your re-marraige. You should have done so, and had a pre-nuptial agreement in place. That would have protected you and your children in the event of divorce or death. You should see an attorney to review your estate plan.

Re: Home Ownership After Death

I agree with the other authors, but add the following. A Will only covers assets in an individual's name alone, not anything registered in more than one name. Assets owned and registered jointly (either as joint tenants with right of survivorship or JTROS or as tenants by the entirety - the traditional joint ownership of real estate between married persons) or which have a designated beneficiary, such as life insurance and retirement plans, which go as the registration or designation states, even if a Will says to the contrary. It appears that you and your husband need to meet with an estate planning attorney, like myself, to review your assets, make or recommend changes in how assets are registered, and prepare any necessary documents needed to assure your wishes are met, to provide for your children, even if your husband were to remarry and have additional children.

Re: Home Ownership After Death

You need to sit down with an attorney and get some advice. This is too important to try to do over a computer bulletinboard. Find an attorney who is not too far away, who handles estate planning, and also has some divorce experience.

Good luck to you.

Re: Home Ownership After Death

If the home is in your names as "husband and wife" or as "tenants by the entirety" or "joint tenants with right of survivorship", upon the death of one, it automatically becomes owned solely by the survivor and is not part of the deceased's estate.

People in second or later marriages with children from previous marriages should get legal advice about how they take title to real property and other assets, and should have a written agreement as well as separate wills to protect their respective children.

All children of any person have rights to their estates, but if there is no estate or probate property of one of the spouses, there is nothing for the children of that spouse to make a claim to.

You really should consult an estates lawyer in or near your County. My NJ office is in Collingswood [Camden County].