Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee

Generally speaking, lawyers will refer to assets that bear beneficiary designations as "non-probate" assets. It's a fancy way of noting that these assets pass to the beneficiaries designated within them without regard to another document, like a Last Will and Testament. Disposition of non-probate assets is governed by the terms of the assets themselves. Life insurance policies and bank accounts that are transferable or payable upon death are the examples usually cited.

The result in your case is a disproportionate distribution of the assets owned by your father-in-law at his death. Whether this was his intention or the result of a poorly-coordinated estate plan is a question that you haven't asked, but one that you might consider. Beneficiary designations, just like a Will, could be challenged on a variety of grounds, and the result of a successful challenge could be recovery of those non-probate assets into the probate estate. Obviously, such a challenge requires some pretty compelling evidence, and you would need to weigh for yourself the risks and benefits of rocking the boat.