When a person dies befor getting the inhartance from another family member

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Appalachia

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I live in Tennessee and I am married. Everything I own, house, car and bank accounts are in joint accounts with my wife. I am however still wondering if I need to make a separate will to make sure that if something happens everything will go to her or if this will be enough.

Also is there a free temple that I could follow for writing my own will which I could have notarized and signed by 2 witnesses? I have no children It is just me and my wife.

Thank you
 
If you have no children, the laws of intestate succession say that without a will your wife would get everything, but it's cleaner if you have a will. Though you may have the house and other major assets in ownership forms that provide the wife survivorship rights, wills are commonly used to sweep up any remaining personal property or assets that fall through the cracks.

The other reason to have a will is what do you want to happen if your wife passes before you?

While I don't know of "free" templates, they're available online (or sometimes at local office supply stores) for less than $30. The will must be signed by you and the witnesses together (the witnesses can not be beneficiaries of the will). Notarization isn't strictly required, but couldn't hurt.
 
Everything I own, house, car and bank accounts are in joint accounts with my wife.

Everything? So you don't any clothes or furniture or jewelry?

While it may be that all of your significant assets are owned jointly with your wife, everything you own is most certainly not jointly owned. That being the case, you need to think about the things that aren't jointly owned with the right of survivorship. If you die without a will, those things will be governed by your state's law of intestate succession. Under Tennessee law, if you die without a will and are survived by a spouse and no issue (i.e., children, grandchildren, etc.), then your spouse will inherit your entire estate.

In my opinion, if you die before your wife, a will may be unnecessary. However, I agree with the prior response that a will is a good idea to provide for what happens if your wife dies before you.

is there a free temple that I could follow for writing my own will which I could have notarized and signed by 2 witnesses?

I'm sure there are hundreds of free samples/templates that you can find with a simple google search. Whether using something like that would be a good idea is an iffy proposition at best. Notarization isn't necessary. If you decide to do this on your own, I strongly suggest that you google something like "tennessee will requirements." Otherwise, you and your wife could be creating costly problems for yourselves.
 
Everything I own, house, car and bank accounts are in joint accounts with my wife.


What do you believe the VALUE of EVERYTHING you own?

Is your spouse's name and yours the ONLY names on any real estate you own?

Are you worried about adult children inheriting anything?


Tennessee law says: when the estate is valued at less than $50,000, an interested party may (your spouse), forty-five (45) days after the death of the decedent, file with the clerk of court a small estate affidavit, and proceed to use said affidavit to collect any debts owed to the decedent.

If you have life insurance policy naming ONLY your spouse, only your spouse will receive that benefit.

If you have pension(s) naming your spouse as your beneficiary, ONLY your spouse will receive those funds.

If you and your spouse are named properly on bank accounts, ONLY your spouse will receive that money.

Unless you're with $500,000, $5,000,000; or more, you have very little to worry you.

If you want to draft a will, there are thousands of templates available online.
 
Hello,

This question is a bit complicated.

My husband passed away about a few months ago. He did not have a will he had put all his belongings in our name. We live in Tennessee.

My husband is originally from NJ and a few months before he passed his dad had passed as well. His sister is the executive of the estate and handles all the paperwork and inheritance processes the money had not come to my husband before his passing. This is all located in New Jersey.

I am getting worried about what rights they legally have to keep me from getting my husbands share? Do I have any rights to this money without a will? While his sister has not openly said she would fight to keep me from getting my husbands share, the last conversation had some interesting legal questions that made me concerned. I just want to get an idea of where my rights are in such a situation.

Thank you.
 
Hello,

Do I have any rights to this money without a will?

Your father-in-law (FIL) died several months before your husband died. The determination of who gets what from your FIL's estate is determined by who was living on the day your FIL died. So your husband was entitled to his share of his father's estate since he was still living at the time his father died. Now that your husband has died as well that means that your husband's share goes to his estate. As your husband did not have a will, the distribution of his estate is determined by the applicable state law, and you did not say in what state you and your husband were living when he died. However, if your husband had no living children or grandchildren then it is likely you get all of his estate. If your husband does have living children or grandchildren then the estate gets split is some fashion between you and the children/grandchildren.
 
Your father-in-law (FIL) died several months before your husband died. The determination of who gets what from your FIL's estate is determined by who was living on the day your FIL died. So your husband was entitled to his share of his father's estate since he was still living at the time his father died. Now that your husband has died as well that means that your husband's share goes to his estate. As your husband did not have a will, the distribution of his estate is determined by the applicable state law, and you did not say in what state you and your husband were living when he died. However, if your husband had no living children or grandchildren then it is likely you get all of his estate. If your husband does have living children or grandchildren then the estate gets split is some fashion between you and the children/grandchildren.

Thank you for your information. As "Highwayman" pointed out we live in Tennessee. This information is very helpful and makes me feel much better. We have no children nor do we have any grand children. It was me and him.

I truly hope that I don't have to worry about this and his sister will not fight me over this. I already have lost a very important part of my life and don't want to fight over money and inheritance with his family.

Thank you for this great site and the clear information on the matter.
 
Thank you for your information. As "Highwayman" pointed out we live in Tennessee. This information is very helpful and makes me feel much better. We have no children nor do we have any grand children. It was me and him.

I truly hope that I don't have to worry about this and his sister will not fight me over this. I already have lost a very important part of my life and don't want to fight over money and inheritance with his family.

Thank you for this great site and the clear information on the matter.

I am sorry to hear about your loss.

Per your husband's posts in April, he fully intended for everything to go to you. Simple Will question

I wish you luck.
 
Hello,

I need some help with some confusing issues and I am not sure what all I need to do to get the right paperwork together.

My husband died 10 months ago in Tennessee where we live.
Unfortunately, he dad passed away before he was able to receive his inheritance from his dad that had died about a year before in New Jersey.

Since then his dad's inheritance still has been in a limbo selling a house and some property all in NJ. Unfortunately, as things came to a closing we got struck with COVIT-19. Now as we can move on the paperwork that had been signed originally by my husband shortly before he had passed was now considered expired and needs to be renewed. Since he is not alive his father Estate and his Sisters Lawyers are requiring proof of Elected Executive of the Estate in the state of TN.

My husband did not make a will, he did, however, had put the property and everything he had in our name. He had no kids. Just me his wife and his sister up in NJ.

I am worried that they may try to cut me out somehow by saying I have no right to this inheritance.

What can I do to obtain paperwork that showed that I am Surviving spouse?
 
Please continue your questions in this thread. Don't start another.
 
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