Legal

Contact your family attorney or hire an estate attorney as the probate process can be lengthy and confusing. 

Not all estates need to enter probate but if your spouse did not leave behind a valid and enforceable legal document that clearly communicated his/her final wishes for his/her assets and property, probate court is available as the legal means of establishing which heirs will receive which components of the estate. 

Laws vary by US state, but the probate process usually starts with an inventory of all assets (bank accounts, house, car, brokerage account, personal property, furniture, jewelry, etc.), which will need to be filed in the court. The executor of the estate will need to track down your spouse’s assets and ensure his/her debts and liabilities are paid before transferring the net remaining assets to the estate beneficiaries.

Upon your spouse’s passing, you will want to update the following legal documents for yourself: 

• Health care power of attorney
• Financial power of attorney
• Beneficiary designations on financial accounts, retirement assets, and life insurance
• Wills and trusts

If your spouse passed with claims to other assets such as state unclaimed property, you may consider filing a claim for the estate to inherit said property as assets rightfully belonging to you as the estate’s beneficiary. Many states have websites that will allow you to search for property under your spouse’s name and will list out the required documents to prove your rights to the estate’s assets.  

Some jurisdictions have an expiration date for when claims may be brought so you will want to research what the requirements and timelines are for your specific situation before proceeding.

Once you are ready to think about the future again, you may want to consider putting certain contingency plans in place for your children, in the event you also pass away before they reach adulthood. For example, if you did not previously have life insurance, you may want to purchase a policy with sufficient funds to provide for your children’s basic needs, including college tuition, through age 22. You may also want to draft/update your living will or revocable trust to ensure your wishes for your children’s legal guardianship are addressed or if you remarry, for your children to be named as primary beneficiaries of all or some of your late spouse’s estate, in the event you pass away before their new step-parent does.

These decisions can be difficult and painful so you may want to wait until you are more recovered from your grief to make them. However, you should not put off taking action for too long as you’ll want your children to have financial and legal protections before and in case of another tragic event.

Disclaimer: Please note that we are not offering formal legal advice, so individuals should always consult their attorneys as their primary source of information and assistance.