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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Can I write my wife out of my will? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1314387641 Message started by Gyrobob on 08/26/11 at 12:40:40 |
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Title: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 08/26/11 at 12:40:40 Can a husband or wife stipulate in his/her will the surviving spouse gets none of the estate? We have a few investments, a paid-for home, and stuff (vehicles, furniture, etc.) We live in Georgia. One of us thinks the surviving spouse can NOT be written out of the will; the survivor gets ALL of the estate. The other one thinks the opposite; either person can set up their will so the survivor gets little or nothing. Which is true? (or are there some other possible outcomes?) I realize this post will generate a some opinions, some sarcasm, and some funny remarks. I accept that. Along with the "entertaining" commentary, I'm hoping some of you might have some knowledge in this area and can provide some useful info. Thanks large. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Jerry Eichenberger on 08/26/11 at 13:03:27 Gyro - The laws of each state are somewhat different. I'm an Ohio lawyer, not adnmitted to practice in GA. You need to get the advice of a competent Georgia lawyer, not a bunch of motorcycle enthusiasts, unless they are also competent GA lawyers. In Ohio, a surviving spouse can "elect to take against the will", which means that he/she gets the same proportion of the deceased spouse's estate as if the deceased had no will. Spouses only get it all if there are no children - if there are children (called "issue" in legalese), the spouse shares the estate with those issue. But all of this varies with the laws of each state - go see a lawyer if this question is genuine. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by babyhog on 08/26/11 at 13:08:44 But can it be specified in the will that the spouse is to receive nothing?? I can't imagine doing that, and I'd divorce his butt, but I think that's the question. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Jerry Eichenberger on 08/26/11 at 13:10:41 Not in a state like Ohio that lets a spouse "take against the will". In that case, it's as if there is no will. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by babyhog on 08/26/11 at 13:18:55 Oh, I see. But that kinda nullifies even having a will, doesn't it.... |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Jerry Eichenberger on 08/26/11 at 13:33:27 Sometimes, in some states, you can acheive that goal with a pre-nuptuial agreement, entered into before marriage and with full disclosure of each other's assets and liabilities. These agreements are disfavored almost everywhere, and are high scrutinized by the courts. In all of the wills I've written in nearly 40 years of practice, I've never had a client want to disinherit a spouse - if you hate her or him that much - divorce him or her. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by weracerc on 08/26/11 at 13:33:50 NC - my mother in law left her 4th husband a life estate in the home and it's contents as well as her car - there was no residue clause (who gets what) specifically mentioned - the old man stole her money co-mingled it with his bank account - was removed as executor by probabte judge more than 1 year after her death - and the estate is tied up with a "public adminsitrator" who is now handling the estate more than 2years after her death - and this P.A. does not communicate anything she is doing with the estate to the "object of her bounty" the children of the deceased (wife's mother)....bottom line the old man was not to recv any $$ or anything else besides the life estate (right to live in the house) and the car......he took everything including jewelry, family heirlooms etc..... and removed them from the property sold them who knows what he did with some of it....he died 6 weeks ago - good bye good riddence! |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by scottnj on 08/26/11 at 14:16:37 I'm an Ohio lawyer like Jerry, and I also wouldn't give you any real advice in a public forum like this and not on Georgia law. But if you're just asking in order to settle your "bar bet" about who's right, I don't think either of you is 100% right. The law of pretty much every state provides for some minimum support that a surviving spouse can claim regardless of what the will says. Georgia is known as one of the states that provides the fewest rights to a surviving spouse, so if your goal is to leave as little to each other as possible you're probably living in the right place. I hope this is just a joke, but if you really want to make any changes to your will, consult a Georgia attorney. If you really want to make sure your wife doesn't get anything from your estate, just spend all your money now on stuff that doesn't retain any value, like parts and gas for your savage/s40. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/26/11 at 15:03:16 I doubt you could will more away from her than you could walk away with in a divorce. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by verslagen1 on 08/26/11 at 15:05:31 good advice, spend it or give it away. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by bill67 on 08/26/11 at 16:02:10 Take her to Aruba for a vacation. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Serowbot on 08/26/11 at 17:12:51 I hope you're asking this from work,... or you might end up,... Gyrobobbitt... :-?... |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by lukeduck on 08/26/11 at 17:18:14 You can put anything in a will that you desire. Don't know how it'll hold up in court tho ;) |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 08/26/11 at 19:53:14 So, the situation is probably that no matter what, the surviving spouse gets something out of the estate, even though the will might say "he/she gets nothing, the kid gets it all." I should have phrased the question differently. It is possible the reader might get the impression that I wanted to write my old lady out of the will. If I could redo it I would ask, "Can one spouse write the other spouse out of the will?" Out in California, I knew a guy who wrote his will thusly: When I croak: - The wife gets nothing, I disown her. - My daughters get nothing, I disown them. - My SON gets it all. A son-in-law (disowned daughter's hubby) complained about that, but the daughters were too intimidated by the SON to do anything about it. So, when the old fart kicked off, the SON got it all, which wasn't much, except for a house in silicon valley. The house was not in good shape, but the lot alone was probably worth a mil or so. The son-in-law feels bad for his wife (one of the disowned daughters) because the old fart gave everything to his SON, illegally, and everyone let his SON get away with it. When the old fart's wife croaked, she didn't understand how she had been robbed, and didn't set up her will to properly handle what she rightfully owned. So, the SON has the house, and the daughters have nothing. The only silver lining in the cloud is that the house is worth less than half of what it was several years ago, and the property taxes are eating the SON alive. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by verslagen1 on 08/26/11 at 20:05:06 7A444F525F525F3D0 wrote:
The SIL should feel bad for his wife, but not because she was cheated out of any money. But because the old fock didn't love his family. And it looks as if the young fock will follow in his footsteps. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 08/26/11 at 20:19:34 514255544B4640424916270 wrote:
The SIL should feel bad for his wife, but not because she was cheated out of any money. But because the old fock didn't love his family. And it looks as if the young fock will follow in his footsteps.[/quote] The fact he didn't care anything about the females was a given. They had all gotten used to that. So, there was nothing new about the attitude shown in the will. The daughter didn't feel any new grief over that,... she was hoping, though, to use some of what should have been an inheritance to help fund college for her three granddaughters. The three granddaughters are in a USAF family fathered by a TSgt (currently). An E-6 with four dependents has to live very frugally to save up for three kids' college. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by mpescatori on 08/26/11 at 23:56:51 OR the kids enlist into an ROTC program or similar... They will then get pais to study, which ain't bad if you think about it... IF you want to stay away from the heat in case of a war / posting to a Combat Area, just graduate and acquire skills which will keep you out of trouble. That's the way it works in Europe. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 08/27/11 at 06:57:24 766B7E68787A6F7469721B0 wrote:
OR Work two jobs and go to school full time, even if you have a non-working wife and a kid. Ignore the government handouts. I have way more degrees than I ever needed, BUT, I paid for them all myself, while supporting a wife and various quantities of offspring. BTW, I don't like your attitude. While being completely legal, I find it offensive to scheme in such a way so that you steal the money from other taxpayers, and yet avoid the real responsibility of being in the military. I suppose more than being bothered by your offensive attitude, I am bothered by the way the bureaucrats have set up such a "spread the wealth" system. I admire those who use no one else's money, and do it on their own. I also admire those who serve in ways that do not intentionally try to avoid any "heat." Those who try to avoid the heat and yet reap the benefits are cousins to draft dodgers. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 08/27/11 at 07:23:08 So!,... getting back to the basis of this thread,.... It appears that generally one spouse can NOT deny the surviving spouse everything. If the will so states, the will is nullified, and the estate is split up according to that state's probate procedures. I wonder which of these wills would be found reasonable by most courts: 1. The surviving spouse gets nothing, and the kids get the all of the $500,000. 2. The surviving spouse gets $100, and the kids get $499,900. 3. The surviving spouse and the kids split it evenly. 4. The surviving spouse gets $499,000 and the kids split up $1,000. 5. The entire half million goes to a nephew, disowning spouse and kids. 6. The entire half million goes to a charity, disowning spouse and kids. 7. The surviving spouse gets $10,000, two of the three kids each get $10,000, and the remaining kid gets $470,000. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/27/11 at 18:32:25 Like I said, I doubt the will can leave the spouse less than they would get in a divorce. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 08/27/11 at 20:10:58 716E686F72754474447C6E62291B0 wrote:
Probably. How, then does that relate to the way the male gets hosed in a divorce? My wife never worked, and the kids lived at home for maybe a third of our 43 years of wedded bliss, but if we decided to split up, I'd be living in a dinky apartment eating vienna sausage, still paying for all her medical bills, and putting the RYCA CS-1 on craigslist. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/27/11 at 21:24:56 Theres a big property out west of us, The guy raises horses, expensive horses,, the fence is just great, you can look at it & see MONEY dripping out of it. Rumor has it he was aware of the fact that his wife was gonna divorce him, so he spent a Huge Load O $$$ to build that fence.. IDK if he kept the place,, or if the story is true, but I like it.. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by WD on 08/27/11 at 21:48:28 I know that if I croak first, in Wa my wife would have gotten everything. Period, end of story, that is how it works there. Ditto if she went first. Community property state. Here in TN it is kinda peculiar. Holographic wills were legally recognized until a couple years ago. That means handwritten, no attorney necessary. Now you need a will or trust paperwork on file with the county clerk's office. I know my father in law set up both, leaving everything but a few CDs for the grandkids and a raggedy old sail boat to my wife. We get the rest, 54 acres of jungle, a Katrina kablooied house in MS, an 1841 plantation manor house (tinder box) and a bunch of worn out farm equipment. His oldest son (and name sake) gets the raggedy rotten full of water and covered over in wild roses sailboat, but only if he comes to get it. If not, we're stuck with it too. Don't upset your parents by marrying the wrong woman, it will come back to haunt you... ;D |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by stinger on 08/28/11 at 00:56:37 Bury her in the backyard and you get all of it! |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Trippah on 08/28/11 at 16:47:42 Plus bigger tomatoes. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by sluggo on 08/28/11 at 17:17:31 who cares your dead, cant take it with ya, spend it quick.... |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Starlifter on 08/28/11 at 21:33:59 "Take her to Aruba for a vacation." ;D ;D ;D Good one Bill. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Jerry Eichenberger on 08/29/11 at 12:21:28 Gyrobob - You shouldn't insult Col. Pescatori - one of the true intellects on this forum. You see, I went thru college, partially paid for by ROTC money. My ROTC check paid my tuition. I worked full time for the rest - books, and general living money. And I'm proud of it too - I didn't run to Canada in the mid 1960s. After returning from active duty, I paid for my own law school, and didn't use my GI Bill money, I saved that to get a couple of different jet type ratings while I flew as a corporate pilot to pay my way thru law school. And I don't mind letting anyone know that I took full advantage of both ROTC and the GI Bill - that's what those programs are there for. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by WD on 08/30/11 at 18:22:32 If I hadn't told a LtCol to go F*** himself, the Army would have paid for 3 years of my college. Only scholarship I had. Did the same thing when I was active duty in the Navy and got tossed out. Three months of inpatient rehab my a$$, f-u. I have authority issues... ::) |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/30/11 at 19:34:05 Got an honorable D/C after 3 years, I signed up for 6.. They told me they put a code on my DD214 that would keep me from ever wearing a military uniform again,, something about me not "being the right kind of guy", for military service.. I was told by the CO that I was being discharged & 3 hours later I was driving away,, 2 or 3 bird colonels hand carried my papers through CBPO.. or so I was told,, 3 hours is a pretty swift DC.. There were some pretty good reasons they wanted me gone,, I dont want to go into it here.. |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 09/03/11 at 20:17:32 This thread drifted a bit, eh? |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/03/11 at 20:41:27 They do that,, |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Serowbot on 09/03/11 at 22:36:51 Yunno",.... I' been thinkin' about this, and... ... if you can write your dog into your will,... you should be able to write your wife out... Don'cha' think?.... :-?... |
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Title: Re: Can I write my wife out of my will? Post by Gyrobob on 09/04/11 at 05:16:24 7F697E637B6E63780C0 wrote:
Yeah, I think. However, a lot of states set it up so that when one spouse croaks, the other gets it all. Period. So, the croaking spouse can not write the survivor out of the will. For you attorneys out there, what is the status in California? Can one spouse have it in his/her will that the surviving spouse and two of the kids get nothing while the other kid gets it all? |
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