What happens if my husband did not have a will and passes away? 12 Answers as of August 31, 2011

It depends on the assets. If there was a homestead solely in his name (and he passed away after October 1, 2010), the surviving spouse can receive a life estate in the home or elect a one-half interest in the home. The election must be made within six months of the decedent's death). The surviving spouse is also entitled to half of the other assets (if his kids are not your kids) or the first $60,000 plus half of the assets that go through probate (if you share the same kids). The surviving spouse is entitled to an elective share of 30% (which includes the assets that go through probate, P.O.D. accounts, fractional interests in property, among other assets. If you have doubts as to what you are entitled to, I strongly recommend you seek the advice of a probate attorney.

It depends on whether the children are yours or not. All jointly held assets will be yours, but those which are separate will be split depending on if his children are yours or not. This Probate handbook is designed to answer many of the questions clients will have during the probate process but not designed for someone to complete their own probate. Florida Statutes require that most probate cases involved legal representation.

Correct any assets owned by the decedent which did not have a joint owner or beneficiary would be split to a surviving spouse and to the decedents children.

It depends on whether the three children are common to the husband and his spouse or whether the children are the husband's alone from a separate relationship. I recommend you speak with a probate attorney for additional information.

In Georgia, no, the wife gets a 1/4 child's share (and both the minor children and wife might jumble things further with years support claims). No husband who cares about a wife would put her through that to save a few hundred dollars in legal fees, so get him to a lawyer ASAP.

It depends on the state where he lived. In California, under the intestacy laws (where there is no will) the legal spouse receives her 1/2 of the community property and with more than more than one surviving child, one-third of the separate property. The children receive the other one half of the community property and the two-thirds of the separate property.

It depends upon the law in your state and how the assets were titled at the time of death. In Wyoming, the spouse would receive 1/2 of the probate assets and the children would split the other 1/2. However, if the asset had some form of beneficiary designation (e.g. transfer on death, joint tenant with right of survivorship, tenancy by the entirety, payable on death, etc.) then the particular asset will be distributed to the beneficiary designated to receive the property.

Assuming you are both residents of Nevada, it will depend upon whether the assets are subject to probate or not and if so, if the assets are community property or not. If assets have a named beneficiary they are not subject to probate and pass by operation of law to the named beneficiary. If the probate assets are community property then the assets pass to the wife. Separate property assets subject to probate are distributed 1/3 to spouse and 2/3 to children, since there is more than one child. You may want to seek legal advice from an attorney who can address specific assets and review how they are titled. Additionally there are issues about the priority of unsecured creditors which can vary depending upon the value of the estate.

The surviving spouse would get one half of the community property (the other half of the community property already belongs to the surviving spouse) and the kids would get the other half split equally. This would mean 75% of the community property to the surviving spouse and 25% of the community property to the kids; 50% of the separate property to the surviving spouse and 50% of the separate property to the kids. There are other provisions in the probate code regarding the family home that may differ depending on the circumstances. You should consult with an attorney regarding these specifics.

Any beneficiary designations (e.g. life insurance, IRA) stand. For probate assets, if the children are his children and not also children of the spouse, then yes, spouse takes half and children take half. If the children are children of decedent and spouse (including legally adopted) then spouse takes all.