Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

In general, if the property in question belonged to the father, yes, he can leave it to his son [or anyone else] in his Will. [one caveat would be if the spousal right of election is applicable...this would depend on the value of the estate and the value of the property gifted to people other than the spouse, and the value of the spouse's seperate assets].

However, this is not the case if it is jointly owned property...that would pass to the spouse upon his death, outside the Will.

I agree with the above. Howenver, a spouse is entitled to a minimum value of 1/3 of the estate.If, without the coin collection, the spouse has less, then she may be entitled to some or all of the collection. Please contact me to discuss this matter further. My telephone number is 732-663-1500.

Thank you.

I also agree, presuming there were no marital agreements that would change the results. No value information is contained in the question, so it is difficult to determine if the surviving wife has a possible claim. A wife is not entitled to 100% of a deceased husband's estate, just 1/3 less the value of assets she owns by herself. Included in the 1/3 are joint assets, as well as individually owned assets. More information about the size (value) of the estate of the deceased husband, value of joint assets, etc., is needed to provide a better response. Of course, if some of the wife's funds were used to acquire the assets or pay the premiums, this may be different. As aforesiad, more information is needed.