Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oregon

My daughter's father passed away in april.My daughter is 17.He was remarried, but seperated for around 8 months before his death but his divorce was just filed not to long before he passed.So,unfortunately,they were still married.My daughter was just getting to know her dad after about 16 1/2 years of him being absent from her life.My question is he owed back child support and my daughter and i know very little about what assests he may have or if he had a will.we have heard ,the "new" wife has sold everything he owned and kept all of the proceeds.She sold everything within a week of his passing,I called the child support division days after his passing to let them know he passed,i just got a letter from them stating they confirmed he has passed and there is a judgement but i am wondering if they have waited to long to collect on it as it has been 4 months.She also recieved all of his life insurance money and would not let my daughter even see her father one last time.She has told My daughters father's mother that my daughter will never see anything from her father can she do this?We also had an older son together that passed 4 years ago,he and his wife at that time collected life insurance on my son whom he never even knew.Do I Or my daughter have any recourse we can take against her for taking everything and selling it? or because she was married to him is she entitled to everything once again?We know he had a car that was worth quite a bit of money,a bank account with unknown amounts of money,a life insurance through his work but i believe her name was the sole beneficiary on that as he hadn't changed any of his financial things yet since they werent legally divorced.one last question if i may:what happens if she doesn't file his income tax for this next tax season ? is she obligated to do so? or how does that work? i thank you for any response in advance.


Asked on 8/28/09, 12:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Meek Daniel W. Meek

You need to file a lawsuit against the father's estate, alleging that you are entitled to back child support payments and that you daughter is entitled to money as one of his heirs. It is not too late. As part of the lawsuit, you get "discovery," which means she has to give you all relevant documents you ask for, including any will, any life insurance policy, etc. The executor of his estate has to make a final income tax filing. His second wife may have been appointed executor in his will.

Read more
Answered on 9/04/09, 1:48 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates questions and answers in Oregon