(August 24, 2018 at 1:38 pm)mlmooney89 Wrote:(August 24, 2018 at 1:28 pm)Khemikal Wrote: Whats the point of having individual ownership of financial instruments and property if a state can nullify that ownership in the event of death? Would you have to file as an injured spouse if your husband had prior individual commitments...essentially..rolling the dice? Or is that even an option?
Could you shift proprietorship to a state that isn't under that law?
Prior stuff can be written into things like pre-numps. My dad was married to another woman when he died so the only thing I got was his social security split between myself, sister (until we were 18) and his wife. There is $5k in the state from oil money that is his but I can't have it cause it belongs to his wife. I refuse to tell her it is there for her to take. If/when she dies I will claim it with my sister and split it then. Will's do supersede that law so if my dad had had one he could have left us stuff. Since he didn't she got it all as spouse. My dad lived in N Carolina with his wife but since he was military he got to pick which state he was a "citizen of" and since he was from Texas he picked that and therefore went by Texas rules. My step dad died in S Carolina and didn't have a will either. Now my mom has to give 1/6th of anything that was his to his bastard kid, even her house that had both their names.
I could get a will but seeing how I'm married to my child's father he would get everything anyway. If we were ever to divorced/separate (Texas doesn't have legal separation) I would get a will and specify I wanted it left to the kid.
Have you spoken to an lawyer about the legality of not disclosing that? If it is hers you better make sure that it is legal for you not to tell her. Waiting to get that may not be worth it if you are required to disclose that.
Courts can see omission in a bad light. Not saying you are doing anything wrong, just saying be sure.