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We don't know if 2nd Wife ever understood how her regulating access to your father hurt his children, or being unmentioned in his will felt like another slap in the face.
So, maybe I'm a Pollyanna, but I think it's quite possible that the 2nd wife has set aside a few family heirlooms for his 5 natural children. She doesn't need them, obviously, and given that she may never have had a desire or reason to be hurtful, she is doing this just to be kind.
Or, maybe I'm entirely wrong, and this is the Final Flush.
could be.....I've gone into way too many details that I would usually keep private, but a couple years back I contacted this woman (when I was doing some genealogy) and asked her if she would be willing to part with some things of his like his Merchant Marine graduation photo, certain certificates and tug boat memorabilia. She said she would 'look in the garage.' We had a somewhat pleasant conversation and I ended with the offer to pay postage for anything she might send. I never heard another word.
Perhaps she will let the kids go through his junk now, but i am not flying to CA to do it.
That might end this saga. If nothing else, it's been cathartic for me to get this off my chest.
I appreciate everyone's engagement on a difficult (for me) subject, proving that not everything on the 'web' has to be negative.
I was fortunate that my mother explained to me her rationale for making a change to her will that impacted me. It stung initially but I did understand her reasoning. I know she didn't owe me an explanation for changes she made to her will. I considered it an act of love that she did that rather than me finding out after her death and assuming various reasons. I wish more people did that.
Agree. I saw the insurance paperwork once a long time ago. Dad showed it to me. My assumption was that the beneficiary(ies) changed when he married for the 2nd time.
I just sure hope we are not mentioned in a will to be told we were disinherited!!! hahah like, we know! smh
My dad had 3 life insurance policies by the time he died. The original beneficiaries (his mother and my mother) died long before he did. He was a financially savvy and meticulous guy, but he never got around to updating them. Because the original beneficiaries were all deceased, I had to provide their death certificates before the insurance companies would release their policy proceeds to his heirs. As for being disinherited, the usual advice is that a will should specifically name anyone who has been disinherited. Not mentioning someone's name at all probably sends a different message.
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-11-2024 at 02:49 PM..
Some sad stories on this thread. Without going into too many details, let's just say that my siblings and I were extremely, extremely relieved that our father's second partner died before he did. She was a nasty, selfish person who brought misery to our lives for decades. At some point I plan to go dance on her grave.
Odd situation. My father's 2nd wife has passed. We were adults when we they were married so there is no adoption or other legal guardianship type relationship between us. His 5 natural children were left nothing in his will.
Now that his wife has passed on, we were notified that her attorney needs to notify people named in the will (whether or not they are beneficiaries) of her passing.
I'm curious why this might be, if no one is a beneficiary of anything. AFAIK we have no claim to anything belonging to her that might have come from our father, specifically $$ or property. Is this notification simply an admin thing, if anyone feels they may have a claim?
TIA
I'm not sure what state you are in. Every state has different intestacy laws. In many, though certainly not all, if the surviving spouse is unrelated to the deceased's children then the estate is split: half to the spouse, half to all of the children (this is the case in Maryland or Florida for example). In some states the surviving spouse is entitled to live in the primary residence until their own death or sale of the property, afterward the property is split among the children.
Your father's will very likely override intestacy law anyway (that's what wills are for). It's likely you got a fair shakeout, and thus, are named in the will.
Wills can always be contested. It's possible you can claim that your father was not of sound mind when writing his most recent will and that your step-mother took advantage of him. A judge "could" rule the will invalid, but it would require substantial proof. Unless the deceased specifically wrote "I despise Jessica and choose to leave her nothing because of XYZ" then there is always room to challenge.
She was a nasty, selfish person who brought misery to our lives for decades. At some point I plan to go dance on her grave.
Off-topic, but after my molester died, my dad took me to where they buried him (I didn't go to the funeral), and then he went back to the car. I'd once told him I wished my uncle would drop dead because I wanted to pizz on his grave. He left to give me the privacy to do so.
I'm not sure what state you are in. Every state has different intestacy laws. In many, though certainly not all, if the surviving spouse is unrelated to the deceased's children then the estate is split: half to the spouse, half to all of the children (this is the case in Maryland or Florida for example). In some states the surviving spouse is entitled to live in the primary residence until their own death or sale of the property, afterward the property is split among the children.
Your father's will very likely override intestacy law anyway (that's what wills are for). It's likely you got a fair shakeout, and thus, are named in the will.
Wills can always be contested. It's possible you can claim that your father was not of sound mind when writing his most recent will and that your step-mother took advantage of him. A judge "could" rule the will invalid, but it would require substantial proof. Unless the deceased specifically wrote "I despise Jessica and choose to leave her nothing because of XYZ" then there is always room to challenge.
This is my father's second wife's will. Not my Dad's. He's been gone 20 yrs now.
Maybe there was a trust where your father’s wife could stay in the house until death but then it would go to his children. Also, states have different laws involving inheritance.
Did she have children herself? What always makes me sad is when a second or third spouse inherits from the other spouse and then leaves everything to children of their own former marriage. I think that is just unconscionable and downright cruel.
I'm not sure what state you are in. Every state has different intestacy laws. In many, though certainly not all, if the surviving spouse is unrelated to the deceased's children then the estate is split: half to the spouse, half to all of the children (this is the case in Maryland or Florida for example). In some states the surviving spouse is entitled to live in the primary residence until their own death or sale of the property, afterward the property is split among the children.
Your father's will very likely override intestacy law anyway (that's what wills are for). It's likely you got a fair shakeout, and thus, are named in the will.
Wills can always be contested. It's possible you can claim that your father was not of sound mind when writing his most recent will and that your step-mother took advantage of him. A judge "could" rule the will invalid, but it would require substantial proof. Unless the deceased specifically wrote "I despise Jessica and choose to leave her nothing because of XYZ" then there is always room to challenge.
Did you read the thread? No one discussed in this thread died intestate. The OP's father's will isn't in question here. He passed many years ago. His estate was probated and settled long ago too. A moot point.
Once again, the OP hasn't suggested they want or plan to challenge anyone's will! All they asked was what reasons there might be for his second wife (who didn't marry into the family until after the kids were independent adults) to ask that his kids be notified of her passing even though no bequests seemed to be made to any of them. Why read anything more into this than that? Are you people trying to stir a pot that doesn't need or want to be stirred? WHY?
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-12-2024 at 03:10 PM..
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Did you read the thread? No one discussed in this thread died intestate. The OP's father's will isn't in question here. He passed many years ago. His estate was probated and settled long ago too. A moot point.