Inheritance question

Next of kin in the US typically means a blood relative, but can also mean the wife. If the husband dies intestate, his child "A" might have to share in the estate, but would not be left penniless. The wife's child "B" would not be entitled to any of the husband's estate. When the wife dies, "A" would not be entitled to her estate, but "B" would. So basically the husband's kid comes out okay.

If "A" were an adult, and the wife could prove somehow that the husband had disowned him/her, then it's possible the kid could be left without anything. But as a minor, s/he's safe unless the guardian is stupid or criminal in handling the finances.

If the widower was rich the surviving second wife only gets the first £250k. His child cannot be left with nothing if no will was made
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index...there_is_no_will___the_rules_of_intestacy.htm

The difference between dying intestate (without a will) and dying testate (with a will) is what controls the distribution of your estate. If you die testate, your will provides the judge with guidance as to your wishes, and as long as those wishes are reasonable and within the law, will be followed. (If you read the articles about Leona Helmsley's dog dying, you'll find the dog was shorted about $10 million from the will.)

If you die intestate, all English countries have a statute that provides for the distribution of your estate. These statutes usually provide that the first $100k to $500k (amount varies according to locality) goes to your spouse. Amounts over that initial amount will be divided equally between the spouse and children. This statutory scheme is what Waylander is describing.

The money that goes to the spouse are the spouse's to do with as he or she pleases. In your case, if the wife does not remarry, and the wife does not make a will, her estate will go to her children, and the statute may or may not provide that it goes to step-children. You need to read the applicable statute.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

If the child is still under 18 then they have solid grounds for contesting the will. If they are over 18, but were still receiving support from him they have some grounds for contesting the will (e.g they are a full-time student and father was paying the fees).
If they are over 18 and hadn't spoken to him since he remarried then they can whistle for it.

Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Howard_Marshall.

Depending upon the circumstances, it can go either way. And roughly speaking, English and American law are similar in this area.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Everything depends upon the validity and content of the Will, if there is one.

If there is no Will the distribution, and whether or not the son or anyone else has a right to claim any portion of the Estate, will depend upon the relative Laws of Succession or Intestacy laws or whatever in the country of domicile concerned.

The type of assets that make up the wealth may also factor into the equation.

It's not something one can answer categorically without specific details.

It's not the same in Scotland or England, either, for example.

Depending on the order of death, the child who is not the legal heir to the father could get an inheritance. Unless a will states otherwise, in the event that the father was to die first, the surviving spouse would inherit the money. Upon her death, it would be split between both the mother's and the father's children because the money would have then belonged to both parents. Even if both of the parents were to die simultaneously, both children would benefit, unless a will stated otherwise.

On the other hand, if she were to die first and then the father was to die, all money would go to his legal heir, because it never belonged to the mother, which would shaft the mother's child(ren) out of the money. Unless, again, a will was written stating otherwise.

Hey Shaldna,

In your example, character popping his clogs intestate, I think that his child would receive one third of the estate automatically. If he/she can be traced.

Regards

Whacko

depends on whether it is under English or Scottish law, there are significant differences

I was going with English Law, based solely upon what I've seen on a BBC show called Heir Hunters I hasten to add.

But I think next of kin is where English and Scots Law merge. Every blood relative can challenge a will. After all, where there's a will, there's a peed off relative.

Where I live living together as man and wife for four years constitutes a common law marriage so it would be a null point. Legally the partner would be the surviving spouse. No idea what UK common law marriage laws are. Generally I think if you're not married, and there is no will, you have no legal claim to the estate.

AFAIK if you're not married, or in a civil partnership you get nothing

Estate law is tricky.

Many people who write their own wills or use a general practice attorney find that out to their chagrin. (Or at least their heirs do.)

If you're lucky enough to have substantial assets, see a specialist in estate law. You'd be amazed at what can happen to your money if you don't.

shaldna said:

thanks guys.

one other quick question - what about other partners?

Say girl/boyfriends - what happens then? For instance, the Steig Larsson case with his partner, she basically got screwed because they weren't married. Is this the standard case?

Say I'm with someone for 20 years, living as husband and wife, and the he dies, do I get nothing?Do I even have a chance of contesting that?

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Certainly in England there is no such thing as a common law marriage.

You wouldn't get nothing, because you'd have contributed to the combined household wealth so some of it would be yours already.

shaldna said:

thanks guys.

one other quick question - what about other partners?

Say girl/boyfriends - what happens then? For instance, the Steig Larsson case with his partner, she basically got screwed because they weren't married. Is this the standard case?

Say I'm with someone for 20 years, living as husband and wife, and the he dies, do I get nothing?Do I even have a chance of contesting that?

Click to expand...

Here you're going to need someone experienced in the law in the jurisdiction you're talking about. This is going to vary a lot from jurisdictions.

But assuming common law marriages are not allowed, is there a way around this? This does not apply to homosexual couples in jurisdictions that do not allow gay marriages. Nor does this apply to a heterosexual couple that does not live as "husband and wife."

First part of this is how much did they live as "husband and wife?" Is this how they announced themselves? Are documents filled out this way? Did they file joint tax returns? The farther they are from living as "husband and wife," the harder this becomes.

Second part is how much is it worth arguing either way.

What constitutes a "legal" marriage can become a fun question for an attorney. This stuff has been argued successfully both ways.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

shaldna said:

thanks guys.

one other quick question - what about other partners?

Say girl/boyfriends - what happens then? For instance, the Steig Larsson case with his partner, she basically got screwed because they weren't married. Is this the standard case?

Say I'm with someone for 20 years, living as husband and wife, and the he dies, do I get nothing?Do I even have a chance of contesting that?

Click to expand...

I believe that the UK does not have common law marriage. In the US, most states have done away with it, but some states still have it. And even states that do often have multiple rules for it to count. For example, if the couple told people they were married.

But, in most cases, no. Inheritance issues are a big practical reason why gay marriage should be legal.

Just wanted to put another attorney's opinion behind jclarkdawe's statement that this could go either way, which is great for your story. What is it that you want to have happen? If you posted up how you want things to go down, we could maybe say whether that scenario would be feasible.

If you live together for so long isn't there a common law marriage? I am not sure how that affects inheritance. Also don't forget they tax the heck out of it. I know In the U.S. both the state and the federal government take some.

Rob Lefebvre said:

If you live together for so long isn't there a common law marriage? I am not sure how that affects inheritance. Also don't forget they tax the heck out of it. I know In the U.S. both the state and the federal government take some.

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Not in the UK there isn't (at least for intestate estates).

The threshold for inheritance tax is currently £325,000