• 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.

No 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.

eddie57

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My mother recently passed away and she left no will. Does affect my father's estate in any way?

Eddie
 


eddie57

Junior Member
Father's estate

You know, Eddie, that is pretty cryptic.

What do you mean by your "father's estate?" Is he deceased?
Didn't mean to sound cryptic. My father is alive. He says that everything is his now. I am okay with that, but I just wanted to confirm his opinion. I am on his side but he has other children who may not feel that way. I have talked to him and now he wants to make a will and leave everything to one son because he does not work. Again I have not problem with his decision. Please excuse my bad wording. English has never been my forte.

Thank you for your initial reply.
 

anteater

Senior Member
My father is alive. He says that everything is his now...
Well, he could be right. It depends on how mother and father owned their assets. Texas intestate succession statute says (and it is more complicated than many states' statutes):
If any part of a Texas decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:

1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to depends on these situations:

- If there are surviving children or direct descendants of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes one-third of the personal property in the estate, with the balance going to the children and descendants. The surviving spouse is also entitled to an interest in one-third of the land in the estate for the rest of his or her life (a.k.a., a life estate), with the remainder going to the decedent's children and descendants.

- If there are no children of decedent or their descendants, the surviving spouse is entitled to all the personal property in the estate. The surviving spouse also gets outright ownership of one-half of the decedent's lands. The other half of any lands passes according to the distribution rules below (except that the surviving spouse gets everything if there are no surviving father, mother, or siblings, and their descendants, of decedent).

2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to:

Decedent's children and their descendants....
Father can leave his property to whomever he wishes. But, if he intends to leave everything to one son, then he should discuss this with the attorney preparing his will to ensure that the will includes enough explanation to deter a challenge to the will. (Note that I did not say "prevent" a challenge to the will. Nothing can prevent an interested party intent upon challenging the validity of a will from doing so. Whether they can win is another matter. Proper language in the will can deter a challenge, and, if challenged anyway, pretty much ensure that the challenge will be a loser.)

Please excuse my bad wording. English has never been my forte.
That's OK. Nothing wrong with the English. But your original post was so short that it was difficult to determine what you were asking.
 

TrustUser

Senior Member
hi anteater,

what sort of "explanation" do you find to your taste ?

the reason i am asking is i dont think it is a good idea, in most cases. it can give so and so some ammunition to try and disprove.

if you simply mention a child in the will, and then specifically state that said child receives nothing, there is little to argue about. the child was not forgotten.
 

anteater

Senior Member
Well, my taste is for more general language. Something like:

"Anyone not mentioned above was not forgotten or overlooked. If they ain't in here, it's for my own darn good reasons."

I don't know that getting more explicit than that provides more or less incentive to someone exluded to challenge.

The fact is, even without any such language, the person challenging still has to provide some plausible evidence that they were overlooked or forgotten about. I've always fantasized about testimony in a will contest going like this:

"Billy Bob, isn't it true that you lived in your father's trailer your entire life?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"Well, how can you ask us to believe that your father overlooked you?"
"Well, my bedroom was on the other side of the trailer."

Besides, confronted with some explicit language in the will, the potential challenger can switch over to undue influence if they are determined to challenge the will.

"That Bobbie Jo [the sole beneficiary] always was the sly one. And pretty darn good with that internet thingie. I bet she read some stuff and made Dad put in there that I was excluded just because I got drunk and totaled his favorite pickup."
 

TrustUser

Senior Member
hi anteater,

i definitely agree with you, there. i just dont like the idea of putting in a specific reason that someone can disagree with.

like i am disinheriting son because he is a drug user. then son cleans up, and is no longer a drug user at the time of distribution, etc.

here is the language that i use in my trust, regarding heirs not mentioned.

Any person not named in the beneficiary list above, was not mistakenly omitted. They were intentionally omitted. This includes all other possible legal heirs. It is the intent of the Grantor to deny the legitimacy of any claim on any assets of This Trust Estate, by anyone other than the above listed beneficiaries.

and if you really want to get sticky, you could add this includes my son, john smith.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

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