Q: Deceased had will, Surviving spouse never enacted the Will & now remarried. Do surviving adult children have any rights?
My mother passed in 2013. She had a Will written, witnessed and notarized. Her husband never filed for probate or personally settled her Will. He remarried this year (2017). I know that she left personal and monetary things for myself, my brother and grandchildren. What exactly, I don't know. I also have no real knowledge to where any of her things are or if he even has them in his possession. Is there anything that I or my brother can do? This is in Manassas, Virginia, Prince William County.
A: Do you have a copy of the Will or do you know where you can get a copy? That would be the first step. Did you ever see the Will to know who the executor was? If you can't get a copy of the Will you can ask that the estate be probated as an intestate estate. As the children of your mother, you would be entitled 2/3 of her estate if there is no Will that can be produced which states otherwise. The question is whether or not there is any estate left to distribute, and if it has been disposed of or spent by her husband, you would then be looking at filing a civil action against him to regain your inheritance.
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