Family assets sharing with kids.....FAMLY LAWYER question.

[holysmoke]

I am wondering what happens to your assets when you die.

Let say you have 5 kids and one of them is from previous marriage/relationship, and once you die do all the money/assets

GET divided up among the widow and the kids, including the one your paying support to?

Can you make a will and say I want all my assets to whomever you choose or does the wife get 50%, and then other 50% get divided among the kids including the child from previous relationship?

 

[Curious36]

I'm no expert but I believe all assets/moneys goes directly to the spouse upon croaking. If you draw up a will it can be divided any way you see fit. But remember wills can be contested by family members that dont like the outcome of your final wishes. All conventional wisdom states that doing up a legal will is in your best interests and will prevent others/lawyers/government deciding how your assets are best distributed.

 

[thumper18474]

A will is what you want it to be...your last wishes...and the executor is used to make sure they are carried out.
if you have no will....my understanding is the government steps in and decides it for you.
If you so choose to exclude someone ..or all family members there is nothing they can do ..unless there was some underlying circumstance as to the reason behind it...illness(being of sound mind sort of thing) or if it was found out that you were manipulated into doing something out of the norm.
some will emphatically state in the will......and I'm paraphrasing here....if you challenge the validity of it or stir up shit..you get NOTHING..!!
Everything should be spelled out in the will...right down to who gets the dog/cat.!!dont leave anything to chance...dealing with the passing of a loved one is highly stressful enough without having to deal with the fallout of so and so didnt get the same crystal goblet as so and so..!!!!

 

[holysmoke]

So the government can't step in and force a percentage of the assets to be given the child support payments? and give a percentage to the other kids?

Will making a will allow me to give all my assets to one kid or all to the wife?

 

[thumper18474]

They are YOUR assets...final distribution is at your discretion....NOW having said that....Any court ordered edict (child support, spousal support) could impact that.
the law is NOT black and white...if it were we wouldnt need lawyers...LOL

 

[mitchell76]

I would go see a wills and estates lawyer. From what I understand, if you want to write out a family member from your will then you should have your lawyer take detailed notes about your reasoning why he/she was written out. You should also attach your own written letter to the actual will as well. This will help to defeat a potential will challenge once you pass on.

 

[mandrill]

This is a wills and estates question. The answer can be complicated and will depend on how much you own.

If you die without a will, your assets get divided up in the "1 size fits all" arrangement set out in the Succession Law Reform Act. Your widow gets the first big chunk - $100,000.00??? It's been a while since I did 1 of these and I forget the amount.

The rest gets split between all your kids pro rata.

If you make a will, your stuff goes to the people you give it to in the will. It's your choice. But....

The judge will indeed make sure that your estate pays adequate child support and spousal support, if legally appropriate.

Your ex gets to make an equalization claim against your estate, if she has been cut out of your will.

It's complicated. See a lawyer.

 

[bazokajoe]

From what I remember when I had a will drawn up was,if your married and die the wife gets everything regardless of what a will says.
I am single and my lawyer asked me a bunch of questions about the possibility of getting married in the future.He said he did this because if he wrote up a will then a few years down the road I got married or had kids the will wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on.
Like everyone else says....go see a lawyer.Pay the money and get real advice.

 

[holysmoke]

Lets say there's no more child support as that child has reached the adult age and is self supporting, will that child get any of the assets when I pass away?
Is it possible for the court to request payment for that child even after that age?

What's the law on that say?

 

[out4fun]

Debts have to be settled from the estate, so if child support is due, I don't believe you can will your assets beyond your obligations. Mortgages, car liens etc all have to be cleared before you just will the assets away. Usually, in a separation agreement you are required to carry life insurance to cover future support payments. Just because you drop dead, doesn't mean your debtors go away. They are owed by your estate.

 

[bazokajoe]

Debts have to be settled from the estate, so if child support is due, I don't believe you can will your assets beyond your obligations. Mortgages, car liens etc all have to be cleared before you just will the assets away. Usually, in a separation agreement you are required to carry life insurance to cover future support payments. Just because you drop dead, doesn't mean your debtors go away. They are owed by your estate.

Never heard of the life insurance clause in a separation.Then again I've never had to got through 1.If it's correct it's a pretty stupid law.

 

[mandrill]

From what I remember when I had a will drawn up was,if your married and die the wife gets everything regardless of what a will says.
I am single and my lawyer asked me a bunch of questions about the possibility of getting married in the future.He said he did this because if he wrote up a will then a few years down the road I got married or had kids the will wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on.
Like everyone else says....go see a lawyer.Pay the money and get real advice.

That is purely and only because a subsequent marriage supersedes and invalidates a will. It doesn't mean that a will is ineffective if you get married. It just means you have to re-do the will post marriage date to revalidate it.

 

[mandrill]

Lets say there's no more child support as that child has reached the adult age and is self supporting, will that child get any of the assets when I pass away?
Is it possible for the court to request payment for that child even after that age?

What's the law on that say?

If the child is adult, your will can disinherit him / her entirely.

 

[Scarey]

As my wife and I get older I think about this more often.We have been together 10 years now and the kids are out of the house now.She had 3 from a previous marriage and we have raised them as a family unit over these last ten years.Of the 3 I'm beginning to see some nasty traits of two of them when it comes to money.If they are not happy about the division of my wifes assets at her death(provided she goes first)I'm pretty sure 2 of the 3 would contest whatever will there was.It's definitely something I'll be looking into in the next few years.

 

[Imperius]

This is a wills and estates question. The answer can be complicated and will depend on how much you own.

If you die without a will, your assets get divided up in the "1 size fits all" arrangement set out in the Succession Law Reform Act. Your widow gets the first big chunk - $100,000.00???

In Ontario, first $200K to the spouse, the residue divided between spouse and children. This website has a good list of scenarios and examples:

http://www.wagnersidlofsky.com/articles/intestacy-in-ontario.php

If you have a legal financial obligation to someone, chances are the person can apply to the courts to get a piece of your estate. Beyond that, you can pretty much do what you want.

Get a will done professionally. A lawyer will answer your questions and create a will that (as far as the law allows) reflects your wishes. If you have tens or hundreds of thousands (or more) in assets, a few hundred bucks is a small price to pay to see that it ends up where you want it to end up.

Oh, and get it done NOW. Unless you know your or your spouse's date of death.