If you inherit money but die leaving it in the other person’s estate, does it still subsequently go to your estate?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If you inherit money but die leaving it in the other person’s estate, does it still subsequently go to your estate?
My father died 2 years ago leaving everything he had to my stepmother. She has 2 children (not my father’s). She died without taking certain accounts out of my dad’s estate. In other words my dad still has an estate. Her 2 children claim that what is left of my father’s estate should go to them. Shouldn’t it now go to his own children?
Asked on July 2, 2011 under Estate Planning, New York
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss and for the situation. I am assuming that your Dad had a Will that left everything to your step mother. Did the Will go through probate? Did you by any chance contest the Will if you were left nothing (you have to specifically disinherit a child in New York)? When you say that she did not take "certain accounts out of your Dad's Estate" do you mean that she was to distribute certain funds elsewhere than to herself? You need to seek legal help here as soon as you possibly can. I fear that they are correct: if everything was left to her and she passed away then everything goes to her children. Please take all the documentation to an attorney to review. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.