Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
my dad died and tried to separate his assests between his wife my sister and I.(not our mom) but they were married 32 years.He left alot of cash in 2 separate accounts- the 600k to his wife and the 282k to his daughters transfer on death.she has filed a lawsuit outside of probate to claim 1/2 of the 282k account as hers ,saying it was community property. we know this is not what our dad intended.We know he kept all his accounts separate from his but he is lying and telling her lawyer a different story.Any ideas if we should go to court to argue this or just let her have it/ p.s she cut off all communication with us a month after he passed.
1 Answer from Attorneys
I need to get a little better understanding of the players in this scenario. It sounds like the now ex-wife is attempting to claim an inheritance. In almost all cases, unless a Will was created after the separation, any "inheritance" a former wife WOULD have received is considered void - and the Will or intestate succession is performed presuming the ex wife predeceased the husband.
Thus, the current wife would have some grounds to claim a portion of an estate (exactly what would take an analysis of the Will and a deep and long look at the property left (lots of variables to consider here, far too many to go over in a vacuum).
However, in short - the ex wife gets nothing. This may be somewhat untrue if a deed was never changed (to a home or something), or the beneficiary of a car or bank account was never changed - however - for the most part the ex would receive nothing.
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.
