Stepmother took it all

16 Oct 2024 · 1 min

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1:23

In this YouTube segment Jerry Taylor responds to a viewer, Sarah, who claims her stepmother kept the entire estate after her father's death. Jerry first expresses sympathy, then outlines the legal landscape. He explains that because the father left a will, any assets solely in his name must go through probate, a process that can be lengthy and costly. To avoid probate, Jerry recommends that individuals use revocable living trusts during their lifetime. He then discusses Sarah's possible claim as a "pre‑termitted heir" – a child unintentionally omitted from a will. Most states allow such heirs to inherit as if the decedent had died intestate, but proving unintentional omission is difficult and depends on the will’s language and state law. Jerry concludes by encouraging Sarah to consult an attorney, consider the trust alternative, and invites viewers to sign up for his newsletter for more guidance.

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Sometimes people in your family take what should rightfully be yours. Here's a case in point. Sarah says, after my dad died, my stepmother who hates me took everything. She refuses to give me a penny. My dad had a will but never got around to adding me to it. So I haven't gotten anything. I don't know what to do. First off, I'm very sorry to hear about this, but it happens way more often than you might think. Now, this situation brings up a couple of issues, but there may be something Sarah can do about this to depending on the facts. First, because Dad left a will, if there was anything left in his name alone, that will is going to have to go through the probate process. That's why more often than not, I suggest doing a revocable trust in your lifetime because it will avoid the whole probate process. Now, whether or not Sarah can do something about this depends on whether she can prove that she was a pretermited heir. Most states have laws that say that if a parent unintentionally leaves a child out of a will, then that child is considered to be a predetermined heir and the child can recover what they normally would have recovered if the parent had died without a will under state law. So here, I think it's going to come down to what the will says and whether or not Sarah can prove in court that she was unintentionally left out of the will. And that's not going to be easy to do. But if she can, she's got a shot at recovering some of her father's estate. Now go to my link and sign up for my newsletter.