Q: what other factors determine how much i would be entitled as far as my deceased father estate goes?

A: Hello,

I feel like I missed the first half of the story, but here are some issues you will need to think through as well as some explanation of Utah Law.

First, let's make sure that we are both understanding the language that we are using. When I say estate, I mean all property in the decedent's name at the time that he died. This does not include any property in a trust that he owns, or any property that was held in joint tenancy ( joint title where two or more people own it and the last remaining Survivor is entitled to the predeceased owners interest).

With that being said, the highest priority beneficiary after legitimate creditors, taxes, and administration expenses Wendy's those specified in your father's Will if he had one. If you did not have one, then the remaining estate would pass according to the laws of intestacy ( statutory rules for distribution of a decedent's property if there is no will). The laws of intestacy state that first it would go to a surviving spouse or at least a good chunk of it would if there is one oh, and the remaining would be divided equally among your father's children and a surviving spouse if the surviving spouse is not also the biological mother of all of your father's children.

In short, if your father's wife is also the mother to all of your father's children, then she is entitled to inherit all of the estate if there is no will. If she is not the biological mother to all of your father's children, then she would be entitled to roughly the first $100,000 + 1/3 of whatever is left over. And the remaining 2/3 leftover would be divided equally among your father's children.

The first step would be to determine if there is any real estate in the estate or if the total sum of all other property in the estate values over $100,000. If neither of the above are true, there may not be a need to go through probate. The Next Step would decide whether probate is necessary because either it is a complex property ownerships, or whether there is likely to be contention. If either of those are true and even if it is a small estate, you may want to file a probate case from the beginning.

Probate can be a complicated process depending on who is involved and if they are likely to fight or not. I would recommend talking to a probate attorney.

I hope this helps.