My father passed away in June of this year as a resident of Arizona.

Question

My sister and I live in MA, My father was married to a woman who he shared no children and my sister and I were a previous marriage. He left no will. How do My sister and I protect our inheritance rights? The wife was hesitant to give us a photo album from our childhood never mind our inheritance. Is there some sort of way to make sure she doesnt try to sell his house (paid cash in his name before marriage) and car (also paid off) and make sure she can’t try to take everything?

Mike Branum · Answer

Under Arizona law, when a married person dies without a will and has children from a previous marriage, the children from the previous marriage are entitled to one-half of all property that belonged solely to the person who died and half of the deceased's half of the community property. What happens with the house and the car will depend on how items were titled. If both of them were on the deed to the house and your stepmother had right to survivorship, she will own the house clear of probate and the same will go for the car if she was on the title to it. Financial accounts in both their names will also go to her and she will receive any life insurance for which she is the designated beneficiary. 
 
In other words, you have some investigating to do before you will be able to determine which aspects of your father's estate are divisible and which your stepmother automatically received exclusive ownership of at the time of your father's death.

Q: My father passed away in June of this year as a resident of Arizona.