Disinherited daughter

On Mar 22, 7:39 am, "lenore" <blndeamaz...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> when my father died almost 18 mos ago...he left everything in a trust
> to his wife

In which case, he had nothing left to his own name, to pass thru probate per his Will.   He had already given everything (in trust) to his wife.

> a few weeks ago, she also passed away.

Sorry for your loss.

> my father had everything set up in a supplemental trust...

Yes, that's what you told us a couple of sentences ago.

> i have heard that it was possible for his wife to write a will
> that would disinherit me and my other siblings....

Um, if your father ALREADY left "everything" in a supplemental trust to benefit your (step?)mother, then you've already been "disinherited" -- by your father, not by his wife.   That was HIS decision.  Sorry, but that's the fact.

Now, as far as stepmom is concerned, she can write her will any way she wants, too.   She can leave all to her favorite charity, or her dog Spot, or her own birth children, or her chauffeur.   The only restriction on "disinheriting" someone by means of a Will, AFAIK, is that in most USA states, a surviving spouse is guaranteed at least a statutorily-prescribed share of the testator's gross estate, and can "elect" (by filing appropriate papers with the Court) whether to take her statutory share, or whether to abide by whatever is provided for her in the Will.   Since your father predeceased her, she is free as a bird in that regard, with no legal restrictions on what she does with her estate.

> while leaving everything to her two sons...

That's her privilege, if that is her choice.

> who, by the way, were also included in my
> fathers' will.  is this possible????

Is _what_ possible?

Sure it's possible for your stepmom to give her kids money even if they already got some from your dad.   It's not a "one per customer" kind of deal.

But I don't think it's possible that they actually _got_ anything under your father's Will previously (even if they were "included" in it, whatever that means) if in fact, as you stated twice above, dad gave "everything" to the supplemental trust for his wife's care.  Perhaps you're leaving out something important, or are confused about whether dad actually did put "everything" into the trust or did something else with some of the rest of his property.   Maybe he only put some of it in trust.

Bottom line is, no one is _entitlted_ to receive an inheritance, from anyone, except a surviving spouse's statutory share.  The law on intestate heirs only applies if there is no Will, and if there actually is property to be passed on thru probate -- in effect, the law assumes what most people would want to happen, in apportioning the estate to various close relatives.  But there's nothing sacred about that; if there is a Will, that is what controls, as long as there is some property left to be distributed under it.   If the testator (person whose Will we're talking about) has already given away all his property, to a particular Trust or anywhere else, there is nothing left to pass under the Will.

I can't help but read a wounded tone into your post, and we can understand that you might feel that way when you end up with nothing even though (presumably) you had a close relationship with your father.  It's hard to tell whether you also had a good relationship with your stepmother but, as you mention, she was very ill with Parkinson's and your father needed to set up a way to provide for her care even after he was gone.   What he did, favoring his wife over his children, is not such a bad thing in that context; she really needed it, and you didn't, if you are a self-sufficient, non-disabled adult.  It's not like he threw it all away on partying with a bimbo trophy wife and left his own underage children starving.  Keep this in perspective.

If you want to get upset with anybody, maybe the person to be mad at would be the professional who helped your dad set up the supplemental trust IF, and that's a big if, he ignored or misconstrued your dad's wishes to see that you, as well as your stepmom and stepsiblings, would be provided for in some way after he died.   OTOH maybe what happened is exactly what your dad wanted to happen.  We will probably never know for sure.   But don't be mad at your dad for wanting to set up a way to take care of his gravely ill wife after he died.   Be well,

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Mike Jacobs
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