• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Daughter's father deceased, now what?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

tcarraway

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

Background: I live in Texas, however my daughter's father lives in Arkansas. I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place or not so please forgive me! My daughter is 4, her father and I never married. He owns property in Arkansas. He owes back child support.

Yesterday, he committed murder/suicide. I don't know how to tell my daughter as they did have a relationship and he exercised visitation when it was convenient for him. I doubt he had a will. I'm not sure if he had a right of survivorship on any accounts, the house, etc. My question is:

1) My daughter is legally his next of kin right?? (He has a younger sister)

2) Will insurance policy pay out if it is deemed suicide at the conclusion of the investigation?

3) Do I need to secure an attorney to protect my daughter's interest in anything? i.e. I would hate for his extended family members to clean out the belongings in the house. My daughter has a bed, toys, clothes, etc. there.

Obviously, the house is still a crime scene until the investigation concludes so it will be taped off to prevent entry.

4) I looked online in the public records and it doesn't look as though he had a will on file. Do I need to get my daughter executorship of his estate, probate, etc.


I apologize, I know I'm jumping around here but you can imagine my mind is in disarray.
Thanks.
 


JETX

Senior Member
My daughter is legally his next of kin right?? (He has a younger sister)
Depends on what you mean by 'next of kin'. If you mean for beneficiary, it depends on whether he had a will or not. If a will, any inheritance she might have would depend on its contents. If no will exists, then his estate (if any) will be distributed in accordance with the AR intestate laws.

Will insurance policy pay out if it is deemed suicide at the conclusion of the investigation?
Probably not, but it depends on the policy.

Do I need to secure an attorney to protect my daughter's interest in anything? i.e. I would hate for his extended family members to clean out the belongings in the house. My daughter has a bed, toys, clothes, etc. there.
Depends on the family's relationship with your daughter. In any case, you should certainly try to get a current inventory of his assets and what property your daughter may have an interest in.

4) I looked online in the public records and it doesn't look as though he had a will on file. Do I need to get my daughter executorship of his estate, probate, etc.
Your daughter's age precludes her being an executor.
 
Get an Attorney immediately to protect your daughters interest since he was her father, and that he at the least had arrears of CS. There may be other things that she would be entitled to, so talk to an attorney right away. Check to see if you can file on his social security account for the support of your daughter.
 

anteater

Senior Member
Yes, you should retain an Arkansas attorney.

Yes, your daughter would be an heir at law since there seems to be no question of paternity. But, if he did have a will, then his probate estate would be distributed according to the will. Although, there may be provisions in Arkansas law that would provide some allowance from the estate for a minor child even if the child was not included in the will.

If he did not have a will, then his probate estate would be distributed according to Arkansas' intestate succession statutes, which are a bit more complicated than most states if there was a surviving spouse.

Only some states provide for the deposit of a will before the testator passes away. I don't know if Arkansas is one. But I doubt that they would be online in any event.

The insurance depends on the policy language. Most policies that I am familiar with will not pay benefits if suicide occurs within 2 years. But there are policies that do not pay at all and there are policies that don't have any clauses regarding suicide.

You probably have the right to make a claim against his estate for the back child support.
 

tcarraway

Junior Member
Thanks so much for the advice. Let me also state he was not married at the time and there are no other children involved. This is an issue for me because my father passed away unexpectedly eight years ago and his ex-wife (and my 18 y/o brother) cleaned out everything before the funeral even happened because she got a court to grant him executor. I don't want my daughter, although she is young, to have to experience anything like that.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
. He owes back child support.
You can probably get the estate levied for the unpaid support.
1) My daughter is legally his next of kin right?? (He has a younger sister)
Next of kin for what purpose? Are you asking if she is the heir? That all matters whether he had a will or not and if there are other descendents.
2) Will insurance policy pay out if it is deemed suicide at the conclusion of the investigation?
Depends on the terms of the policy but it's unlikely.
3) Do I need to secure an attorney to protect my daughter's interest in anything? i.e. I would hate for his extended family members to clean out the belongings in the house. My daughter has a bed, toys, clothes, etc. there.
Wouldn't hurt. Some one has to open up probate most likely. If your daughter is the likely heir you can get the ball rolling.
4) I looked online in the public records and it doesn't look as though he had a will on file. Do I need to get my daughter executorship of his estate, probate, etc.
Wills are rarely in "public" records. But yes, get probate started.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top