What portion of martial property/assets are stepchildren entitled to?
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What portion of martial property/assets are stepchildren entitled to?
If my husband dies, are his children/my step-children entitled to any of our property and assets?
Asked on May 14, 2019 under Estate Planning, Idaho
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
If your husband has a will which does not leave anything to them, they will get nothing; or if they are named in the will, they will get what the will indicates they should get of his separate property (see below). The law does not require you to leave anything to children and they may be disinherited.
If there is no will, then your husband's separate property (again, see below) will distributed according to intestate succession, which is the rules for who gets what when there is no will. In your state (Idaho) the children get 1/2 your husband's separate property; you will get the other 1/2 of his separate property and all the community property (and keep your own separate property).
ID is a community property state. Anything earned or acquired during marriage (with two exceptions) is "community property," which means it is owned by the married couple jointly, and when a spouse passes away, the surviving spouse becomes the sole owner of the community property. So regardless of whether there is a will or not, you will get the community property.
Separate property is anything (money, real estate, vehicles, etc.) which was acquired or owned pre-marriage, plus two categories of things acquired during marriage: 1) anything inherited by just one spouse; 2) anything gifted to just one spouse. So the children may inherit (depending on whether there is a will and, if so, what it says) part of your husband's separate property.
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