Q: Will I have a legal right to my mother's assets if she dies before my stepdad?

A: The outcome you want will not happen automatically. The only way to guarantee such an outcome would be for your mother to see an experienced estate planning attorney and have a proper estate plan drawn up that protects your inheritance.

The scenario that you worry about is common in blended families. The outcome that you fear is common when one or both parents does not engage in proper estate planning to protect their children's inheritance. When that happens, the children of the surviving spouse are the winners and the children of the first spouse to die get nothing.

A: Your right to inherit from your mother and stepdad depends on a number of factors, like whether either one has a will, how much their assets are worth, and who dies first. Without a will, you have a right to inherit from your mother's probate estate if she dies, but only if her probate property is worth more than a certain amount. The first $100,000 or more goes to the surviving spouse. If her probate property is less than $100,000 it goes all to the surviving spouse (stepdad). Without a will, you as a stepchild have no right to inherit from your stepdad's probate estate if he dies. Life insurance with a beneficiary designation and assets owned jointly by spouses don't pass in probate, and aren't part of a probate estate. Remarried families present complicated situations like these for estate planners.

In sum, if your mom and stepdad want to ensure that you inherit something from them, they need to see an estate planning lawyer and have a thorough estate plan drawn up. At minimum, they're going to need wills, and possibly trusts, and also to coordinate beneficiary designations. If you need further information, get a consult with an estate planning attorney.