no will

[Interactive]

We live in Nebraska, are in our mid fifties, and have been married for over 30 years.
My husband will not write a will. The house is in his name. Our investments are in both
our names. He is incorporated with his father, mother, and brother is a family farming
operation. He now has about half the family farm stock in his name. I am in no way part
of the family corporate farming operation. We have one son who is 30 and does not live
at home.
He insists everything automatically goes to me, even his stock in the family farm. I insist
he is wrong--everyone could claim it--and even if they don't, it will be a mess. What
should I do?

 

[ALawyer]

You are right and he is wrong. Everything does NOT automatically go to a surviving spouse. And it will be a mess and would increase the cost of handling the estate and, depending on the facts, also could cause estate taxes to be a lot higher for the family.

Saying that, how will this cause him to stop being superstitious, and stop feeling that he would die once setting down his wishes in a will? Remind him that most of the folks in the Twin Towers did not have a Will, and accidents can happen to anyone at any time and that there is no time like the present. And get him to do at least a "temporary Will" to take care of things until he gets around to "real in depth estate planning".