Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
wills and divorce
my father passed..he and my mom were divorced...he never changed his will as he wanted her to still have everything..is his will valid?..if not i have 2 sisters...who is in charge?..who can make decisions about property?..are things equally divided...if sounds like a messy situation
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: wills and divorce
Generally, if an ex-spouse is still in the Will, that spouse will be treated as if they predeceased the testator of the will. I.e. who ever is listed as getting the assets in the event that your mom died before your dad will get the assets. Same thing goes for the person listed as the Executor. If your mom is listed and there is a successor/alternate executor, the alternate executor would be in charge.
To answer your question more simply, the will is still valid. The person named as the successor/alternate executor in the will is in charge. If one is not listed, all three of you have the authority to be "in charge" but i would suggest that all agree and renounce in favor of just one of you being appointed as administrator.
Once again the propery will pass to the alternate beneficiaries named in the will.
Simply put, read the will as if you mother died before your father. That is what will happen in this case since they are divorced.
I give free consultations so I have no problem speaking with you and explaining this further if you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Hillary N. Snyder
412.963.8495