Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

excluding stepchildren from will

My mother passed away unexpectedly without a will. She & my stepfather have 2 children together (ages 27 & 30). My mother has 5 other children of her own. All are over age 38. My stepfather wants to name their 2 children and 3 stepchildren (Mom's children) to receive his estate in the event of his death, shared equally by all. Two stepchildren are being left out because of family problems. Do these siblings have any rights to his property or would they be able to contest the will? Also, does he have an obligation to name any of the grandchildren in the will - the one he has simply states that is something should happen to one of the beneficiaries, the estate would pass to the others, equally.It also states that if any beneficiary should contest the terms of the will, then their share would pass to the others.


Asked on 7/13/04, 2:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark Mahoney Cassiani Law Office, Wise Shepherd Law Office

Re: excluding stepchildren from will

Hello,

There certainly are some ways to draft a will to make it more difficult to contest. And yes, you can write it in such a way that you can exclude who you want to. However, just on the basis of what little you have provided, it does not seem like his present will has the best provisons and should be updated.

Mark J. Mahoney Appleton WI 920-984-4529

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Answered on 7/14/04, 11:43 pm


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