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FraggleDaggle · Mar 9, 2009, 07:30 PM

My dad had been diagnosed with cancer a year ago. He was not expected to live, but did. Up until last week, when he was rushed to the hospital, and pronounced dead. The PROBLEM... my dad had married his girlfriend of 8 years THREE WEEKS before he died. Now, at that time, he was on morphine and hallucinating. Now, after my dad's passing, my dad's girlfriend has EVERYTHING. My brother and I want to fight it in court as the marriage being invalid because of his mental state. Do you think we have a case?

twinkiedooter · Mar 9, 2009, 07:35 PM

Did he have a valid will giving everything to the new wife or did he die intestate?

Sunflowers · Mar 9, 2009, 08:30 PM

It is unwise to challenge a Will. Many Wills have clauses stating anyone challenging automatically loses what is otherwise bequeathed. He may have died only 3 weeks after he married but he married his sweetheart of 8 years. I would think twice about taking any court action. Try to work this out with the woman who loved and cared for your dad for the past 8 years, the woman who made him happy. He may have married her because even though he couldn't spend the rest of their life together, he still wanted to take care of her for the rest of her life.

twinkiedooter · Mar 9, 2009, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by Sunflowers

It is unwise to challenge a Will. Many Wills have clauses stating anyone challenging automatically loses what is otherwise bequeathed. He may have died only 3 weeks after he married but he married his sweetheart of 8 years. I would think twice about taking any court action. Try to work this out with the woman who loved and cared for your dad for the past 8 years, the woman who made him happy. He may have married her because even though he couldn't spend the rest of their life together, he still wanted to take care of her for the rest of her life.

If he died with no will in some states the wife only retains a certain percentage of the estate and the children get the remainder.

OP did not state either way that's why I asked. And no, not all wills have the antichallenging clause in them. I've prepared many wills that had no such clause.

JudyKayTee · Mar 10, 2009, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Sunflowers

It is unwise to challenge a Will. Many Wills have clauses stating anyone challenging automatically loses what is otherwise bequeathed. He may have died only 3 weeks after he married but he married his sweetheart of 8 years. I would think twice about taking any court action. Try to work this out with the woman who loved and cared for your dad for the past 8 years, the woman who made him happy. He may have married her because even though he couldn't spend the rest of their life together, he still wanted to take care of her for the rest of her life.

Certainly SOME Wills - with specific problems - have that clause but I wouldn't say many Wills contain it. It's just one more thing to challenge.

Otherwise I see this is moral or personal advice, not legal advice.

The legal advice - as I see it - is that someone issued a marriage license which can only be issued if both parties are of sound mind. OP would be fighting an uphill battle if he/she chose to challenge the estate - or Will, if there is one. I don't see any mention of a Will so I'm a little confused by Sunflowers' response.

Agree with "Twinkie".

I will add a personal note - I married my husband in Cadiac ICU. There was a challenge to the Will. My husband's wishes - and Will - prevailed. The fact that a person is very ill and on medication does NOT make him incompetent.

excon · Mar 11, 2009, 06:11 AM

Originally Posted by FraggleDaggle

Do you think we have a case?

Hello F:

Nope.

excon

FraggleDaggle · Mar 13, 2009, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by twinkiedooter

Did he have a valid will giving everything to the new wife or did he die intestate?

No, my dad did not have a will.

I heard that it would go to Probate.

It is worth fighting, because my dad had said to us that he DID NOT want to marry her. Why be together 8 years, and marry just before he dies? Gold digger!

JudyKayTee · Mar 13, 2009, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by FraggleDaggle

No, my dad did not have a will.

I heard that it would go to Probate.

It is worth fighting, because my dad had said to us that he DID NOT want to marry her. Why be together 8 years, and marry just before he dies? Gold digger!

Why he married her doesn't matter; if she's a gold digger (and she lived with him for 8 years so I don't know that she qualifies in that category) doesn't matter; what matters is whether your father was in sound mind and able to legally marry someone. As I said, you will be hard pressed to prove he was not because the Clerk issuing the License is NEVER going to admit - even if it's true - that a License was issued to someone who was mentally incompetent.

ScottGem · Mar 13, 2009, 05:30 PM

I'm going to take a different tack here. Who married them? If he was on morphine was he in a hospital? I found it hard to believe a clergyman, JP or other county clerk would marry someone under those conditions.

Now you said there was no will. If he died intestate mot states will not award the whole estate to the wife. Also if there is no will there is nothing to contest except the marriage. So I would look into fighting the marriage,

JudyKayTee · Mar 13, 2009, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

I'm going to take a different tack here. Who married them? If he was on morphine was he in a hospital? I found it hard to believe a clergyman, JP or other county clerk would marry someone under those conditions.

Now you said there was no will. If he died intestate mot states will not award the whole estate to the wife. Also if there is no will there is nothing to contest except the marriage. So I would look into fighting the marriage,

I actually got married in Cardiac Intensive Care (and I've posted this before) with my husband on various medications, including morphine. The Town Clerk came to the hospital and discussed my husband's state of mind with his Physician and also talked to my husband before she issued the license. The clergyman did the same thing.

So, yes, I was married to a man who was in substantial medical distress and on all sorts of medication for a bone infection, pneumonia, a heart attack and a build up of fluid around his heart. We were married for 5 years and 13 days. When he died his Will and our marriage were challenged.

The people who challenged lost. The Minister and Court Clerk "won" my argument on my behalf.

In some circles I'm a gold digger; in other circles I'm a woman who loved a man who was very sick.

FraggleDaggle · Mar 13, 2009, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

I'm going to take a different tack here. Who married them? If he was on morphine was he in a hospital? I found it hard to believe a clergyman, JP or other county clerk would marry someone under those conditions.

Now you said there was no will. If he died intestate mot states will not award the whole estate to the wife. Also if there is no will there is nothing to contest except the marriage. So I would look into fighting the marriage,

Thanks your comment did help.

:)