Can my stepchildren take my house and my family heirlooms if my husband passes?
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Can my stepchildren take my house and my family heirlooms if my husband passes?
My stepchildren don’t want anything to do with me. Can they take my things, along with the house and life insurance? I am the only name on the mortgage, 2 of the cars are in both our names, 1 is a collectors item that I got from my dad that’s in my name only. Also, he is still paying child support for the 18 year old. He has no Will and we will in MN.
Asked on November 16, 2011 under Estate Planning, Minnesota
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If your husband passes without a Will or a trust, you are in good shape in that under the intestacy laws of most states, the surviving wife gets the majority of separate property assets of the deceased spouse. Items that are in the surviving spouse's name he or she has ownership as to the percentage of ownership and may be entitled to a precentage of the the deceased's spouse's interests in the items.
If you have title to the home (as opposed to the mortgage) you have an ownership right to the home and the cars that you have written about in your name. I recommend that you see a Wills and trust attorney about the question that you are writing about.
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