Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wyoming

Uncle did not have a will: Does family have claim to personal possession?

My husband's uncle died suddenly at 51 and did not have a will. He had no children, but was married. His wife will not allow my husband and his family into her home to go through the deceased's possessions to find objects of personal and monetary value belonging to my husband's grandparents (the deceased's parents). My mother-in-law was told right before her brother's death that he had recently hid his valuables around the home so that his wife's two sons from a previous marriage couldn't sell them for their drug habits. What is the family allowed under the state law?


Asked on 7/15/03, 7:32 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

Re: Uncle did not have a will: Does family have claim to personal possession?

In Wyoming when one dies intestate [without a will] and leaves no children, the surviving spouse inherits everything.

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Answered on 7/15/03, 7:47 pm
Patricia Prince Patricia Gormely Prince, P.C.

Re: Uncle did not have a will: Does family have claim to personal possession?

Michigan law provides that the surviving spouse inherits everything owned by his or her deceased spouse in situations where the decedent died without a will and when he/she did not have living descendents (children, grandchidren, great-grandchildren) or living parents. Therefore, the Uncle's wife is within her rights to prevent the Uncle's family from going thru the house.

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Answered on 7/16/03, 2:18 pm


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