Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
children's entitlment to a parents estates
Am I entitled to anything from my fathers estate? My father divorced my mom when I was 2.He never contacted any of us again or paid his child support.He has 6 children from my mom. He remarried and has 2 children from that marriage and they are in the will while we(the other 6) are not. His current wife is alive.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: children's entitlment to a parents estates
The only person who cannot be disinherited
by a Will is a surviving spouse. Thus,
when you say there is a will, you probably
can be cut out. You have the right
to contest the Will (namely, showing that
it is not valid because of duress, pressure
or lack of testementary capacity) but these
contests are rarely won, especially given
the circumstances described
There may be a claim against his estate for
unpaid child support, but this is dependent
upon the nature of the proceedings when
he was divorced.
Re: children's entitlment to a parents estates
The answer is a definite maybe.
A child can be disinherited by will. The laws of the state where your father died will control this situation.