Kansas City, MO asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Kansas

Q: Who gets deceased grandparents assets after their child dies?

My grandparents passed away a couple years ago. They had 11 children. All said and done, they all split everything 11 ways and walked away with around $100k each. My mother recently passed unexpectedly. She did not spend any of the money from my grandparents. Is that money now her spouses (my stepdads) or does it come to me, since they were my grandparents? Thank you for your time.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Doug Coe
Doug Coe
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Wichita, KS
  • Licensed in Kansas

A: I would strongly recommend you talk to you in attorney about this. There are a number of variables that will affect the outcome. If she passed away without a Will and as a resident of Kansas, and if the assets did not have beneficiary designations on them at the time of her passing, they will pass pursue it to the default rules in Kansas. The default rules would likely divide the assets between the surviving spouse and the surviving children. That said, there may be additional variables that are relevant. Moreover, based on what you have said, you are likely to need to go through probate to actually get the assets transferred, and I again would highly recommend talking to an attorney about this. Let me know if I can help!

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Scott C. Stockwell
Scott C. Stockwell
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Lawrence, KS
  • Licensed in Kansas

A: The assets in an estate in which there is no will are distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy and spousal rights. You should seek the assistance of counsel to determine the best steps to address our possible interest in the estate. The relative interests of a step-parent and the decedent's surviving children may be affected by several different laws and the applicable facts.

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