Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Please Advice

My brother passed away last month, the last 6 months of his life he had been living with our father to help him in his senior years. He died suddenly and had no will, what he had was 2 IRA's in a merryl lynch account, the woman he had married but not lived with since 1986 was listed as beneficiary one 1 of the accounts, noone listed on the second account. They were never divorced, the lynch attorneys informed us that the IRA is not an asset so there it is not considered as an estate to be probated and both accounts will go to the spouse, can this be right? Wouldn't our father be entitled as an heir to some of this IRA? PS: There was no children to this marriage


Asked on 11/27/07, 9:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Park Anthony S. Park, PLLC

Re: Please Advice

Yes, this is correct. Two possible solutions are: (1) get the spouse to waiver her right to inheritance; or (2) petition the court to have the marriage ignored for the purposes of inheritance. Contact my office for a brief complimentary consultation.

Read more
Answered on 12/02/07, 11:46 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates questions and answers in New York