Can an inheritance be "willed" to wife?

[penelope123]

My husbands father recently passed away and his estate is going to be sold and split among the children. My husband is going to get a portion of this. However, he has become very ill and may not be alive when the estate is settled. Can he leave the inheritance to me in a will or what forms do we need to have completed to do this? Maybe a general durable poa?

Thank You

 

[dee_dub]

You should check whether the father's will contains any survivorship clause - certain wills require the beneficiary (i.e. your husband) to survive the deceased by a certain period before they inherit, and your husband (or his estate) might not be entitled to inherit at all.

Assuming he does inherit, it becomes his free and clear, and he can do whatever he likes with it.

I would suggest that, in any event, he should have a will stating how his estate is to be disposed of on his death. If he doesn't, the laws of intestacy will apply. In North Dakota, I believe that means if you have no children, you'll get it all; if you do have children, it will be divided up amongst you and the kids.

He might wish to have a POA also, depending on how your finances are arranged.