ETX_Astro_Boy wrote:
I've been divorced from my minor children's mother for over 10
years now. My wife and I purchased a house a couple of years
ago. currently I'm not on the title of the house. We are looking
to get a home equity line of credit and the bank wants to put me
on the title since my income is so much greater than that of my
wife.
My wife has no problem with me being on the title, but she wants
to make sure that in the event something happens and we both
die, that my ex- wife will not get any control/part of our home
as part of the children's inheritance.
At this point we do not have any wills or living trusts set up.
What is the typical chain of inheritance in CA.? Is this some
thing she has to worry about? I don't see how my ex would get
any sort of control of our assests if my wife and I were both to
die. I mean if her and her husband were both to shuffle off this
mortal coil, I would of course get the kids, but I would not
have anything to do with their house or possessions would I?
If you were to die while your kids are minors, your ex certainly
could get an amount of control as their guardians. If you have no
will and there is nothing in your divorce settlement about it, of
the portion of the house that belongs to you your kids (assuming you
have two or more) would inherit two-thirds, and your wife would
inherit the balance.
In situations with kids from a prior marriage it is particularly
important to have a trust, so that you can avoid problems like this.
For example you could allow your wife to live in the house for the
rest of her life and the kids would inherit only after she dies.
While you may be able to do something like this without a trust,
it's much simpler and you have a lot more flexibility if you have
one.
Stu
