[cherriec]

My father-in-law died in December 2008. He divorced my mother-in-law 3 year ago. They have 4 children including my husband (all residing outside the united states). He has 2 children with his second wife (US citizens). My husband's family has requested to see a copy of his will (if there was any) but the second family refused and became very hostile. We have not heard any advise if my father-in-law left anything to my husband and his siblings. Can he leave his 4 children out of his will and leave all he owns to his new family?

Is it worth while contesting if there was a will or claiming if there ain't one?

[stevetcg]

He can leave his money to whomever he chooses for whatever reason he chooses. If there was a will and it states this, you will be VERY hard pressed to get it changed. If there was no will and it has not gone through probate yet, there is an outside chance that you may get something out of it.

Contact the probate court local to the 'current' family. They should be able to guide you to whom to speak with about the will and its contents. You may want to seek a lawyer if you anticipate that there is any significant value associated with this.

[Fr_Chuck]

You may hire a Texas attorney to address this though the local probate court. He could file a motion to have the will disclosed or to review the probate court filings on this.