Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Savings, Money

Although, in the absence of a will, the two children would inherit his estate, any jointly owned property, such as the house or any bank accounts jointly held with his brother would pass automatically to the surviving joint owner.

The only property passing to the two children would be property held solely by the decedent.

Re: Savings, Money

You do not say if the grandparents have died or are still alive. From the question, I will presume they are alive. If the son predeceases them, and no changes are made to the Deed title or account registrations, the grandchildren will probably get nothing from the stocks, bonds, cash, as the registration is probably joint tenants with right of survivorship, which is the traditional registration of these types of assets. Joint tenancy is presumed where there are multiple owners named on an account. Only the last survivor of the named owners will inherit. As to the Deed, there could be a different answer, again depending upon how the title reads. If the names are stated as being joint tenants with right of survivorship, the same result will apply as with the cash, bonds, etc. However, if there is no designation (just the names with no other qualifying or limiting language) the traditional rule is tenancy in common, which is an undivided interest among the owners, but which allows each owner to designate an heir to their portion of the ownership. Thus, unless the Deed is changed, if the ownership was tenancy in common, the father's predeceasing will allow his heirs (the children) to succeed to his ownership interest, either by Will (if they were designated) or by intestacy statutes (when a person dies without a Will). To properly answer your question, the exact titling of the assets will be required. If the grandparents are still alive, they should be contacted so they can determine what they want to do under the current circumstances. If they want their grandchildren to inherit what would have gone to their deceased son, new account registrations need to be implemented, and a new Deed recorded to reflect this. If the grandparents have died before their son, the account registrations will control as specified above.

Re: Savings, Money

The children, as his natural heirs, would be entitled to his estate.