My condolences on your loss. This assumes he did not have a Living Trust that held title to some or all of his property, that he did not have a Pre-Marital Agreement specifying property rights, and that he had not prepared a new Will after his marriage. It also assumes the marriage was legal and binding.
Who gets what principally depends on the local law in his state of domicile at the time of his death. Each state has its own rules and indiosyncracies for determining who gets what. In some states it depends on the number of children -- if 1 child it's 50-50 with the spouse and if there are 2 or more children it's 1/3 to spouse and the 2/3rds is divided among the kids and their survivors, equally. In other states the spouse receives a set amount of assets off the top and then the rest is divided. In some states it may depend on how the proerty was obtained -- for example if he recently inherited some from your mother, that may be treated a bit differently than other property.
In the community property states there typically are differences in allocation between the "community property" (the spouse may get it all or a larger share) and the "separate property" (it follows the state's rules for unmarried people). One big issue could be did she get him to comingle his separate property and transform it into community property in the short time before the death? If so it would all be community property.
In any state if she got him to put assets into a "joint" account it would automatically be hers by operation of law at his death. And if the estate was morte than $650,000 (as he died in 1999 -- it is now up to $675,000 for persons dying in 2000 and will be $1 million by 2006, or sooner if Congress follows through on its plans to raise the amount) there might be potential Federal Estate Taxes to pay, and as the assets that go to the spouse are not subject to estate tax, there might be an opportunity for creative allocation and post-mortum estate planning.
The life insurance, and the IRA, etc. goes to the beneficiaries he named in almost every state. The pension benefits may go differently, depending on various factors.
Plus if he had real estate in another state (such as a vacation home or investment property) what gets that depends on the state law where the property is. Read the sections on Estate Planning, Wills and Probate on FreeAdvice.com.
Also I'd suggest that as quickly as possible you seek to become administrator of his estate (before the widow seeks that role, and perhaps screws you out of anything she can, plus fes for serving as administrator). You'll need a lawyer to help you and the place to start is
http://AttorneyPages.com.
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This is intended as general information only and NOT LEGAL ADVICE. You are not my client, and I have no obligation of any kind to you. To retain a lawyer, go to
http://AttorneyPages.com
[This message has been edited by ALawyer (edited March 09, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by ALawyer (edited March 09, 2000).]
