protecting inheritance from debtors?

My ex-husband died last month in Wisconsin, without a will. He had married again and his widow has been named representative for probate of his assets. I don't think there was much, but know of a savings account, an IRA, several vehicles and a boat.
He was in the process of inheriting money from his deceased mother, via an inheritance bequeathed to her after she had died.
It has been finalized and his 2 sisters are getting 1/3 each and his is being passed over to Probate. The lawyers have determined where the inheritance originated and also in Wisconsin that 1/2 of this money will go to his widow and 1/2 to his 3 children (which are my children).
His sisters and I are distressed to learn that his widow wants all debts to come out of probate first before the division of monies.
We do not feel that the kids' share of the inheritance should be subject to paying her debts while the Ira and Savings account may be protected as probate free.
What can we do legally to keep this from happening?
Are we correct in our thinking? All we ask is that the debts come out of my exs and his widows joint assets and leave the small portion to be divided by 3 children intact.

No, your thinking is slightly off-base.

If you were the widow, you would want a certain share of the estate to be protected for your financial support. The IRA will be heavily taxed, and there is even no guarantee that the savings account is protected (unless she was named as a co-account owner or beneficiary of it, which means it automatically passes to her through the concept of joint tenancy with right of survivorship which also means it doesn't go through probate).

Each individual is responsible for the payment of his own debts (NOT THE SPOUSE), so it is allowable to get the debts paid before distributing what is left.

How much is this estate worth?

How much are the debts?

A smarter course for you would be to consult with a top-notch probate attorney (NOT the attorneys who are already working on this probate case, because they may be biased) in your area or a paralegal to find out whether, according to Illinois probate law, the inheritance is considered a marital property (in some states it is, in other states it isn't). If it isn't, then this would be a stronger argument in your favor to have input into how the estate is being divided (that might mean that the widow may not be entitled to 1/2 of it if it isn't considered marital property).

DANDY DON ([email protected])

Dandy Don said:

No, your thinking is slightly off-base.

If you were the widow, you would want a certain share of the estate to be protected for your financial support. The IRA will be heavily taxed, and there is even no guarantee that the savings account is protected (unless she was named as a co-account owner or beneficiary of it, which means it automatically passes to her through the concept of joint tenancy with right of survivorship which also means it doesn't go through probate).

Each individual is responsible for the payment of his own debts (NOT THE SPOUSE), so it is allowable to get the debts paid before distributing what is left.

How much is this estate worth?

How much are the debts?

A smarter course for you would be to consult with a top-notch probate attorney (NOT the attorneys who are already working on this probate case, because they may be biased) in your area or a paralegal to find out whether, according to Illinois probate law, the inheritance is considered a marital property (in some states it is, in other states it isn't). If it isn't, then this would be a stronger argument in your favor to have input into how the estate is being divided (that might mean that the widow may not be entitled to 1/2 of it if it isn't considered marital property).

DANDY DON ([email protected])

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Thanks, Dandy Don for your reply!
I have since talked to a probate lawyer in Wisconsin not involved with the case, and learned pretty much the same thing.
You mentioned checking with a lawyer in Illinois, but my husband married, lived and died in Wisconsin. I live in Illinois.
The inheritance is about 30k, I would guess expenses for funeral and medical might be 10k, with the kids splitting 10k. They are happy with anything, but his two sisters are very unhappy.
The money came from their Mom through her receiving it after death, to them. They know their Mom would have wanted the grandchildren to get the money and not my ex husband's widow.
I feel if it were HER children involved she would probably use the life insurance for the funeral costs like a lot of people do.
But, we are afraid that she wants to diminish the amount of inheritance to his kids from a prior marriage to me.
Sincerly,
Sally