Only Blood Related Survivor

[Mantrabowen]

Here is the scenario: A man marries a woman whom has 4 children from a previous marriage. Together they have one child.
The man at no time adopts those 4 children. After 40+ years of marriage the man passes away with cancer. The will that they have leaves things to each other should one of them dies first, if they die together , everything is to be divided between the five children. The woman is under constant influence from the 4 children, the child that her and her husband had together just stays out of everything and doesn't even know what is going on about the finances. This child being the only blood related child to the deceased, wonders what kind of rights he/she has to know what is going on. Can he/she be written out of his/her father's will by his/her mother? Can this be legally fought? Does said child have a right to know what is going on with his/her fathers estate? Should this child retain a lawyer? Would it do any good?The mother in question is under the influence of Prozac, dilantin(anti-seizure medicine) and other medications also and the four children have , well, if you will, "ganged up on" the only blood related child of the deceased, he/she has no idea of what's going on. Please help!!!

 

[ALawyer]

When Dad died it appears he had a Will that left everything to the Wife. Now it is ALL hers.

She can give it all away, spend it, or provide for who gets it in a Will that leaves it to charity (a school, church or cat hospital) or to her 4 kids from marriage 1 (specifically cutting off the child from marriage 2) or to her next husband, or anyone else in the world, assuming she prepared the Will when she is menatlly competent and taking Prozac does not mean she was not.

If she dies without a Will, it goes to the 5 kids equally.

 

[advisor10]

10-16-2001

DEAR MANTRABOWEN:

If you don't already have a copy of the will, check at the county courthouse at the probate court to find out if the will has been filed yet. If it has been filed, you can get a copy of it.

The blood related child should take a copy of the will to a probate attorney to find out what his rights are. I am not familiar with Mississippi law, but in most states it is a requirement that children must be mentioned in the will, and in most states a child IS eligible for a portion of the estate, no matter what the will says. If the child was not mentioned, the probate court might still determine if he is an eligible heir if the child files a claim with the court. The attorney can advise this child whether or not he/she has any rights.

With the mother being under the influence of prescription medication, I wonder whether she has the mental capacity to inform the child of what they are entitled to--she may not want to do that if she is greedy and wants to keep everything, and it looks like the siblings don't want to help, either..


No one can be written out of someone else's will by anyone except the person for whom the will was written for.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

 

[advisor10]

12-3-2001

DEAR MANTRABOWEN:

Everything depends on what the mother's will says. From your description it seems that reciprocal wills were used.

(1) Was the father's will submitted to probate court?

(2) Was your mother the only one who received something from his estate, or were there other beneficiaries who also got something?

If some or all of the property from your father's esteate went to your mother, then she needs to draw up her own will to name who she wants to receive her property, or it seems like it would revert back to the deceased father's estate, unless the will instructs differently. The question "Can the only blood related chid be written out of the will": regarding the father's will, it is useless to ask that now that this will is over and done with; regarding the mother's will: yess, it is possible that he COULD be written out of her will, but that is not very likely, since she probably loves him enough to want to at least leave something to him, and it is a state law that children MUST be mentioned in the will.

(3) How recently did the father's death occur? It is usually a requirement that the will should be filed with the probate court within 30 days after the death occurs. Check with the county courthouse to see if it has been filed yet; if so, you can request a copy of it. If necessary, you or the child could file a petition to force them to produce the will.

(4) How old NOW is the "child" they had together, and why do you refer to it as a "he/she": don't you know for sure whether this person is a male or female? If the child is being kept in the dark about family finances, he/she should consider getting an attorney, but only as a last resort. First, he/she should discuss the situation with the mother to find out about who is handling family finances and estate finances now, and who has the father's will and where is it? That child should try to find out whether or not he was named as a beneficiary and whether he could reasonably expect to receive anything from the estate, or else he couldn't afford to pay an attorney, and there would be no need to get one if he wasn't left anything.

(5) What is the estimated value of this estate?

Please explain what you meant by saying that the other 4 children are "ganging up on" the blood related child.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]