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heirs in intestacy

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J

judycure

Guest
What is the name of your state? Illinois
My mother recently passed away without a will. She was a widow. Her husband (my stepfather) died 18 years ago. He has one son. Without a will from either of them, does the estate get divided equally between my mother's five children and my stepfather's son?
 


ALawyer

Senior Member
In most states, unless she adopted her husband's son, the stepchild would not inherit anything as a matter of law.

However, when his father died, he may have been entitled to a share of his estate, as generally spouses do NOT inherit everything, especially if the estate was above a rather low threshold amount.

As a matter of equity I would strongly urge the 5 natural children to share with the 6th (stepchild), at least for those things that were his father's. That's the right thing to do. And if there was any ongoing relationship with your mother, or any of the 5 of you, an equal 6th share would be fully appropriate.
 

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