Legally Binding Vow ?

Potica said:

What is the name of your state? Florida

Recently, a groom-to-be chose not to say "I do" at the altar, and consequently, the marriage was not consummated.

Perhaps the groom-to-be, being an attorney, smelled a rat. Here is where the groom-to-be balked:

The couple was on the altar in front of the pastor, and the pastor asked the groom-to-be, "Do you vow to put (bride-to-be's name) over all other persons in your life - your parents, your children?"

The groom-to-be would not answer, and shortly thereafter simply stated that he wasn't yet ready to commit to marriage.

Here's my question: In this scenario, had the groom-to-be answered "I do" or "yes" regarding his willingness to place the bride-to-be over all other persons in his life - including his parents and his children, should he have died, would his new bride be heiress to his estate? Or, would she have more leverage in court in the likely event that she and the groom-to-be entered into a prenuptial agreement?

Just curious.

Thanks.

Potica

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This question is clearly not involving a real instance

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Potica said:

You certainly think you have all the answers, but you're wrong....

See the actual, real-life scenario. Read it completely through, and you will see where I got my information:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/01/patricia_delinois_and_jim_ferr.html

Thanks

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What class is this for?

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Potica said:

I make no excuse for being an exceptionally articulate individual. I find it amusing that I write so well, that my "doubter respondents" accuse me of being a lazy law student.

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Potica said:

I make no excuse for being an exceptionally articulate individual. I find it amusing that I write so well, that my "doubter respondents" accuse me of being a lazy law student. I am not a law student, and I have no intention of practicing law.

Thanks for giving me the chuckles of self-satisfaction.

I have posted on this forum exactly 3 times now in 2 1/2 years, and in every case, I come off as being too sharp to be real. Sorry. I seem to have it, and others don't.

See my other 2 posts:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=293148&highlight=Potica

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=292837&highlight=Potica

I truly am a humble individual, but I just feel like rubbing it in to my doubters.

Thanks.

Potica

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divgradcurl said:

But the answer is simple -- the vows are entirely irrelevant to the distribution of the estate. If he died without a will, then the estate will be distributed via his state's intestacy statutes. If he died with a will, then the will controls. It doesn't matter even a little bit what he may or may not have promised on the altar.

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