Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina
my family lives in north carolina and when my grandparents who raised me passed away there will read everything would go to the surviving spouse in the event they both passed everything went to my father and then me. question is, my grandfather passed first then grandmother 4 months later , no will was ever re done and my father inherited everything. if he passes does my grandparents will hold any validity if he has his own will? he is recently widowed and i have 2 step siblings .
1 Answer from Attorneys
Its not that the grandparents' wills are invalid. However, the grandparents' wills only control the disposition of their assets. Once those assets pass to the beneficiary (your father), they are owned by your father and when he dies, the disposition of his assets will be controlled by your father's will, not your grandparents' wills.
If your grandparents wanted to maintain control, they ought to have set up a testamentary or living trust.
You say you have 2 step-siblings. Did your father ever adopt them? Does your father have a will? If your father has no will, everything will pass to his spoues (if any, as he could remarry intheory) and any natural or adopted children. However, children of his deceased spouse do not inherit by right. If your father has a will, he can leave his assets to whomever he wishes and could disinherit a biological child and include the step-children if he so chooses.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
