Does contents of an inherited house include cash found in the house?
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Does contents of an inherited house include cash found in the house?
A friend passed away and left me her house I quote,
Asked on February 15, 2019 under Estate Planning, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Cash in a house would be the contents of the house and you would be entitled to it, unless there is a more specific provision (one referring specifically to money or cash, which is more specific than "contents") would contradicts it, in which case the more-specific provision controls. (That's a general legal principle: the more-specific overrides the more-general.) So if there is some other provision stating something to the effect of "I leave all my money, whether in bank accounts or otherwise located, to John Doe," then John Doe gets the cash, since "money" is more specific to cash than is "contents." But if there is no superceding more specific provision, the cash, as someting found in a home (and thus among the "contents" of it) goes to you.
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