Q: In CA, a divorce was filed in 03 but not completed & person married another. He died.1st wife wants his stuff.
He died and first wife wants to plan service. Second wife is on drugs, asking for donations and says she is not payiung for anything. He left kids from adults to 3yr old none with 2nd "wife". 1 and legal wife wants his personal belongings from 2nd wife. No real estate only personal momentous. How do we invalidate 2nd illegal marriage as we have him in funeral home as 2nd illegal wife will not allow us to address his funeral or even get his clothing. Please help.
A:
Your situation may be too complex to address via the Internet. I would encourage you to find a lawyer you can deal with face to face. The 2nd marriage is technically illegal b/c it is bigamous. However, there is a concept called a Putative Spouse in cases where a person (the deceased, in your case) marries another believing erroneously that they are single. I've used Putative Spouse stuff before, but not in a probate context. You might have to open a probate in your county first to resolve who has the authority to act on the deceased's behalf before the funeral home will deal with you.
Andy
A: The facts of question are unclear to me and seem complicated. As my college rightly suggested, seek a local attorney advice. The information presented herein is for general purposes only. It is not intended to, and may not be construed as legal, tax or accounting advice. For specific advice, please consult a tax attorney in person. Good luck. Zaher Fallahi, Tax Attorney, CPA (California).
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