Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Death after a legal marital separation

Unless he has updated his Will, the old one controls. Since they were not divorced, but only separated, there is a question of what rights the spouse has. I suggest contacting a matrimonial attorney in the wife's state of residence on this issue. This issue also needs to be explored in the State of residence of your father when he passed away. You indicate he passed away in NY. Was he a NY resident when he died? The question of residency is answered by reviewing such things as: where did he last vote?, where was his driver's license issued?, where did he file his 2005 tax return from?, did he own his residence or just rent it? Is his prior Will an original or just a copy? If the original cannot be found, maybe he died intestate (without a Will), which has a whole different set of rules on who inherits. How were his assets titled, individually or jointly? This goes to the question of who is entitled to the assets. Much more information is needed to properly answer your question. This is a reply to an internet question, and the contents are intended to provide information only. An attorney-client relationship is not created by providing a response.