My Uncle died of cancer intestate, and married for four days

[goldfinefiles]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California / Colorado

My mom's brother died last month with no will, and no children, no other siblings, and no surviving parents. He had about $4M in cash and securities, and $30M in real estate in California and Colorado. He died from terminal cancer and was in hospice care (and strong drugs) at the time of his death. In a desperately ill state, he married a former employee four days before he died. He had moved in with her a few months before his death and she cared for him.

My parents had terrible legal representation as the widow filed to administrate the estate, and the probate court awarded the widow the right of administration. We want to file to nullify the marriage, as we don't trust the widow (who has been completely uncooperative since the death), and we want to maximize our share of the estate.

Can the marriage be nullified after the death of one of the spouses, and, for this to happen, what is the burden of proof? We had not challenged the marriage because we found out about it after his death.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California / Colorado

My mom's brother died last month with no will, and no children, no other siblings, and no surviving parents. He had about $4M in cash and securities, and $30M in real estate in California and Colorado. He died from terminal cancer and was in hospice care (and strong drugs) at the time of his death. In a desperately ill state, he married a former employee four days before he died. He had moved in with her a few months before his death and she cared for him.

My parents had terrible legal representation as the widow filed to administrate the estate, and the probate court awarded the widow the right of administration. We want to file to nullify the marriage, as we don't trust the widow (who has been completely uncooperative since the death), and we want to maximize our share of the estate.

Can the marriage be nullified after the death of one of the spouses, and, for this to happen, what is the burden of proof? We had not challenged the marriage because we found out about it after his death.

Thank you so much for your help.

Can you prove that he was not of sound mind when he got married? They obviously had a relationship before the marriage, which would seem to make your job a little bit harder. That's even if you have standing to sue. Simply disagreeing with how his (currently) legal spouse administered the estate is not nearly enough to challenge.

Be prepared btw - whether you intended it or not this really does read like a "we wouldn't care about the marriage if there was no money up for grabs" story.

Y'know?

ETA: This might already be moot - the time to challenge was in probate court. It's very unlikely to be overturned at this point.

 

[mistoffolees]

Can you prove that he was not of sound mind when he got married? They obviously had a relationship before the marriage, which would seem to make your job a little bit harder. That's even if you have standing to sue. Simply disagreeing with how his (currently) legal spouse administered the estate is not nearly enough to challenge.

Be prepared btw - whether you intended it or not this really does read like a "we wouldn't care about the marriage if there was no money up for grabs" story.

Y'know?

ETA: This might already be moot - the time to challenge was in probate court. It's very unlikely to be overturned at this point.

I agree 100%. However, I'd also add one thing. People use the M symbol differently. If he's talking $34,000 worth of assets, it's likely to cost more than it's worth to fight it (he's going to have to fight to have the marriage annulled and then fight to establish some role in the estate. If it's $34 MILLION, then he's an idiot for trying to get an answer on this board. Rather, if there is reason to believe that the man was not of sound mind (not just "we don't like the outcome", then he should be talking with a good attorney in the state where the estate was settled.