Question About Inheritance.

[Don Ro]

It appears as though in the event of my mother's passing (99 yrs. old presently) our family trust could have my share be in the area of $250k plus.
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My question:
If my g/f and I (I'm 73 and she is 63) were to get married and I then pass away prior to my mother, would she (g/f) be in line to receive my inheritance?
Is there a time frame involved or would she automatically be qualified to receive?
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Aside from paying an attorney, any advice as to where I might look for info on the matter?
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TIA.

[greglepore]

No, not unless your mother included her in her will (or the terms of the trust). Doesn't matter whether you're married or not.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

My question:
If my g/f and I (I'm 73 and she is 63) were to get married and I then pass away prior to my mother, would she (g/f) be in line to receive my inheritance?

It depends upon how the will is written. If it was written as "per stirpes"(sp), then the inheritance can only pass to her children, grand children, etc.... My wife had something similar. Her grandmother had 4 children and left the money to those 4 children. If one of the children passed, and that child had children, then the inheritance would pass to the children. If one of the children passed and that child had no children of their own, then the remaining children would each get 1/3 instead of the 1/4 that they were otherwise going to get if they were all alive. If My wife's father had passed and then my wife passed, then the money would not go to me, but would be eligible to go to our children.

But, it's dependent upon how it's actually written in the will. I think it can be written in such a way that it could also pass to your wife (if you had one).

I hope that helps.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by greglepore

No, not unless your mother included her in her will (or the terms of the trust). Doesn't matter whether you're married or not.

That makes sense. Damn!!!
Never thought of that.
Thanks.

[Don Ro]

How it's written is apparently the key. Hmmm......

[Charles Freeborn]

My mother's is written the same way. If I died before she does my share would go to my remaining (living) siblings. My wife would get nothing. The only way to change that would be for my mothers trust / will to be modified to include "significant others". Martial status on my end, or my siblings, some of which are single but in long term relationships is irrelevant. That said, if your (or my) mothers will / trust is modified to include spouses or "others" it would depend on how your (or my) will / trust is written; i.e. to include or exclude spouse (in the form of a prenup if you're in a community property state) or in your case G.F.
My mother is 94, so, like you it's not far off. This form of will seems to be common in that generation. There's an odd sort of rivalry that breeds out of it between siblings. It also, IMHO, creates a weird macabre dynamic with everyone "waiting for her/him to die"... My stepfather was really secretive about it. Even my mother didn't know the size of his estate until he died.
Hope this helps.

[LakeCleElum]

Don - Cheers to you mother living a long life. That's good news for you.......I'm executor of my mothers estate right now; dividing between four siblings and myself......Advice above is spot on...Even if you marry your girlfriend, what you inherit after the marriage is "separate property".....Keep it all in an account with just your name and then name a beneficiary for that account.

[RKDinOKC]

Ha ha ha. My Mom's friend had serveral copies of her will. Each will had different kids either included or written out. She just made whichever will active depending on how her kids were treating her. She even had one that said it was all going to the state because none of her @#!! kids were getting a dime.

My Mom put everything jointly in my name 10 yrs before she passed. Her will stated such because I was taking care of her. And if any of my siblings wanted anything they had given to her they would have to get it from me and it was up to me to let them have it or not. She did that because none of them as much as lifted a finger to help take care of her. I even bought a MIL plan house to make it easier and put in both our names so if I passed first she would get the house free and clear paid for by my insurance and not have to mess with inheritance taxes.

[wildthing]

@Richard, sounds like an old Michael J. Fox and Kirk Douglas movie... Hehe.

[RKDinOKC]

My siblings turned into vultures and a sister and SIL tired get me away from the house and take what they wanted and throw everything else away.

[sugarwood]

A bit of trivia for ya'll....Guess who controls Jim Morrison's estate...

[Steve Carlton]

Ex-wife or something like that.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

A bit of trivia for ya'll....Guess who controls Jim Morrison's estate...

Tabs...

[GWN7]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

A bit of trivia for ya'll....Guess who controls Jim Morrison's estate...

His gf's parents......

https://www.blog.trialandheirs.com/celebrities/celebrity-legacies-jim-morrisons-leads-estate-battle

As to the OP's post as what was mentioned.....how her will is written

[MRM]

State law will decide, not necessarily how the will is written. The question of what interest your girlfriend who becomes your wife before/after the inheritance comes in depends on when you're married, what's in the will, how long you're married, whether you comingle the assets, you have a prenup, and a thousand hints I can't think of off the top of my head. There no way I know how to tell without talking to a lawyer in your state who specializes in trusts and estates.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

.....
Aside from paying an attorney, any advice as to where I might look for info on the matter?
.
TIA.

While everyone is alive and hopefully sound mind, you should discuss what you and your mom want to happen, and have a lawyer modify the documents.

Both my sisters went 'nuts' after my father died, wasted a decent percentage of his estate on accountants and lawyers.

Much cheaper to pay a lawyer to prepare/modify a few documents than defend a lawsuit later.

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by dad911

While everyone is alive and hopefully sound mind, you should discuss what you and your mom want to happen, and have a lawyer modify the documents.

Both my sisters went 'nuts' after my father died, wasted a decent percentage of his estate on accountants and lawyers.

Much cheaper to pay a lawyer to prepare/modify a few documents than defend a lawsuit later.

Spot on. After the "event" it gets way harder to make any changes.

As for Jim Morrison, whoever is managing his estate sure isn't maintaining his grave in Paris. It's a mess.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

A bit of trivia for ya'll....Guess who controls Jim Morrison's estate...

I know who manages his estate, my good friend Jeff Jampol. As well as Janis's and a whole bunch of other dead artists who still earn big. It's a lucrative business.

Originally Posted by Charles Freeborn

Spot on. After the "event" it gets way harder to make any changes.

As for Jim Morrison, whoever is managing his estate sure isn't maintaining his grave in Paris. It's a mess.

When was the last time you saw it? Not sure if my friend has anything to do w it but I saw it a couple months ago and they've cleaned it up and put a little fence around it to keep the graffiti and other crap off it. Still probably the least impressive grave marker in Pere Lachaise, (cemetaries in Paris are amazing). June 2017:

[greglepore]

This has nothing to do with marital property rights. Those only come into play if Don inherits then divorces. Wife may or may not have property tights in money HE inherited.
The question posed was whether his wife inherits his share if he predeceases his Mom. The answer to that question is "only if the will/trust so provides". A spouse has no rights in a legacy that has not passed to a spouse prior to the spouses death or their divorce.


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[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by Charles Freeborn

As for Jim Morrison, whoever is managing his estate sure isn't maintaining his grave in Paris. It's a mess.

Fans flock to the burial grounds of former Rock Stars.....I worked 30 years for the City where Jimi Hendrix is buried. People came from all over the world to camp out and spend the night drinking at his grave site...