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Validity of a will

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Farfalla

Member
State where FIL lived at time of death... Florida


My father-in-law passed away a couple of months ago. He and my mother-in-law were estranged but never divorced. They had four children. FIL had entered into a bigamous relationship with another woman. The woman knows it was a bigamous relationship but did not care. They both kept up the masquerade of being married. He has one child (now adult) from that relationship.

My husband checked around and no one seems to know of a will. So hubby filed (using an attorney) as the personal representative of the intestate estate. He expects to get the paperwork next week that will allow him to get started in doing this job.

Today my mother-in-law sent me an email saying that she was going through old papers and found a will dated in 1967. It’s the will the military had him do before he shipped out to Vietnam.

So now what? We expect the other woman to put up a huge fight. When he died she did not notify the rest of the family, had her name put on his death certificate has his surviving wife. So one of my husband’s chores will be to get the death certificate corrected (anyone know how we go about doing that?)

MIL thinks that introducing the will now will only complicate things… that intestate distribution is just fine with her. She also does not want to be executrix as she is very old and disabled…. Of sound mind but not wanting to do all the work. She’s glad to have her son do it.

Questions:

Might this 41 year old will still be valid? It’s signed by 3 people. From the signatures it looks like they are whatever military people were in JAG that day helping the service guys make out their wills. There is no way MIL and her children will ever be able to find the witnesses to help validate this will. She thinks that it’s too old.

Does MIL absolutely have to give this will to the court? The will was written when her children were minors. She is more comfortable with the intestate distribution now that her children are adults. Plus with the intestate distribution the daughter of the other woman will get her share too. MIL wants the young lady to get an inheritance.
Any thoughts/advice are appreciated.
 
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Dandy Don

Senior Member
Your mother-in-law is far too nice of a lady.

There is probably no statute of limitations and the will is most likely valid. There is no need to locate the witnesses. Your mother-in-law should hope and pray that the will is going to be considered valid so that SHE can get her proper share as surviving spouse from the man's estate. SO WHAT if bigamous betty and her daughter are left out in the cold (too bad--that's what happens when you don't legally marry!).

She should give the will to her son so her son can discuss the ramifications with a local probate attorney and then make the decision of whether to let it be probated or not. If the will is not valid then the intestate division of assets can proceed as you have indicated.

Your husband can contact the health department or vital statistics department for whatever state issued the death certificate (which state you conveniently forgot to post on your message here) and they can issue the correction.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

las365

Senior Member
MIL thinks that introducing the will now will only complicate things… that intestate distribution is just fine with her. She also does not want to be executrix as she is very old and disabled…. Of sound mind but not wanting to do all the work. She’s glad to have her son do it... She is more comfortable with the intestate distribution now that her children are adults. Plus with the intestate distribution the daughter of the other woman will get her share too. MIL wants the young lady to get an inheritance.
Your MIL does not have to try to probate the 41 year old Will. She does not have to give it to the Court or to anyone else (unless compelled to do so by an Order of the Court).

I don't think your MIL is too nice, I think she is perfectly reasonable, sensible, and fair. She is also nice. I think her children should respect and abide by her wishes.
 

Farfalla

Member
Your mother-in-law is far too nice of a lady.

There is probably no statute of limitations and the will is most likely valid. There is no need to locate the witnesses. Your mother-in-law should hope and pray that the will is going to be considered valid so that SHE can get her proper share as surviving spouse from the man's estate. SO WHAT if bigamous betty and her daughter are left out in the cold (too bad--that's what happens when you don't legally marry!).

She should give the will to her son so her son can discuss the ramifications with a local probate attorney and then make the decision of whether to let it be probated or not. If the will is not valid then the intestate division of assets can proceed as you have indicated.

Your husband can contact the health department or vital statistics department for whatever state issued the death certificate (which state you conveniently forgot to post on your message here) and they can issue the correction.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

Thanks.. leaving out the state was an oversight..... FL is the state. I'll go back and add that.
 

Farfalla

Member
Your mother-in-law is far too nice of a lady.
Your husband can contact the health department or vital statistics department for whatever state issued the death certificate (which state you conveniently forgot to post on your message here) and they can issue the correction.
Part of this entire affair has been for my MIL to prove that she is the wife and that Bigamous Betty (I love that name ) is not the wife. MIL has submitted to the Social Security, VA and the military all of whom have done their own investigations looking to make sure there is no divorce. None has been found. So she will get his SS, etc now.

My husband assumes that the state will not just take his word for it that there was not a divorce… proving a negative is very difficult of course.
 

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