Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee

Did your father have a will? If he did, then his will determines who receives his property at death.

However, even if your father had a will, his wife may claim her 'elective share' against his estate - you can find a detailed description of how this is calculated according to Tennessee law by going to this link: http://www.michie.com/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=tncode - the relevant section is Tennessee Code 34-1-101.

So, if your father had a will and in the will left everything to his children (or anyone else), his wife could seek her elective share against the estate. Whatever remains after she receives her elective share - calculated according to the law referenced above - would then remain for distribution according to your father's will.

If your father died intestate (without a will), then his wife is entitled to a child's share or one-third (1/3rd) of his estate, whichever is greater. So, if there is one child, then one-half goes to the child and one-half goes to the wife. If there is more than one child surviving, then his wife is entitled to one-third and the remaining is divided equally between his children.

I hope that this information helps.