• 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.

Living Trust/Will

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

ponte66

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

Senario: A couple, who've been married for over 40 years, decides to make a Living Will. He has a daughter from a previous marriage, and she has two sons from a previous marriage. They go to a lawyer and agree that should either of them die the spouse remaining gets everything until that spouses death, then upon both of them being dead, their home (which is paid in full) goes to his daughter, who is instructed to place the property up for sale, pay any outstanding bills etc..and then give $5,000 to each of her sons (she had two sons from a previous marriage), and she keeps the rest.

He dies first (the husband). She changes the will/trust, without informing the daughter, so that when she dies her one son, whom she favors, gets everything. We believe the home has been signed over to the son, so that the title is in his name. She is now dead and all this has come out.

Does the daughter have any recourse to receive any inheritance? The daughter and the step-mother actually had a good relationship, and this has been quite a shock to her.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 


Dandy Don

Senior Member
The lady had the right to change her will, but the technicality here is that if there is no specific language in the will that mentions an exact, specific reason that the daughter is being disinherited, daughter has the right to contest the will. She should be taking a copy of the newer will (get a copy from the county courthouse after it has been probated) to a probate attorney who has experience in successfully contesting wills to evaluate it to see if she has enough legal grounds to contest and whether she can afford the legal expense to do so.

What is the home worth if it was sold today?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

divgradcurl

Senior Member
I agree with Dandy Don, she should take everything down to a local probate lawyer to see if there is anything she can do. I disagree to the extent that there really isn't anything to do -- the surviving spouse was under no obligation NOT to change her will, and there is no requirement in California to specifically disinherit a child -- and that is especially true when the child is from a previous marriage and not adopted by the step-parent, because once the blood parent dies, there is NO legal relationship between the step-parent and the step-child absent an adoption.
 

mtpockets

Member
Was there a trust?

They would have had to set up a trust to carry out the plan you describe. It could have been either a living trust or a testamentary trust.

if it was the former, a portion of it should have become irrevocable upon the death of the first to die. If it was the latter, you need to see the will of the first to die.
 

tecate

Member
Are there two wills, or is this a living trust? If there are two wills, maybe the survivor breached a contract. If there is a living trust, tell us more about the rights of the surviving spouse.
 
Last edited:

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

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