What portion of a deceased wife’s inheritance goes to her husband?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What portion of a deceased wife’s inheritance goes to her husband?
My wife inherited $13,000 from her parents estate, both her parents have passed away. My wife passed away before the checks was issued. Me and my wife have 2 adult children. My wife passed last April, 2017. She had no will. All her assets went to me. A year later I have this inheritance issue. The executor of this will tells me it will have to fall under Delaware Intestacy Law because my wife had no will. Not sure what that means. I want to know how much of this check comes to me and how much goes to my children.
Asked on April 8, 2018 under Estate Planning, Delaware
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Intestate succession is the law on who gets what when there is no will; each state has its own law on this topic, though they tend to be mostly similar. In your state, when there is a surviving spouse and children, the spouse gets the first $50,000 in value (i.e. of the total) of the deceased's estate: that is, the first $50k of the sum of all money, real estate, jewlery, investments, vehicles, etc. He then gets 1/2 of everything more than $50k, while the children share the other 1/2 of everything over $50k.
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.