mother's estate

[bocomo]

I am trying to decide if my siblings and I should go ahead with the probate process. My mother recently passed. She is divorced from our father and remarried approx. 6 years ago. She did not leave a will but she has been very sick for the past 5 years and possibly not capable or not allowed to create one. She did have a 401k account, that my 2 siblings, myself, and her husband were named as beneficiaries. Within the past year, her husband withdrew, twice, large chunks of it. So with the taxes, penalties, there is less than half remaining. We are wondering about the legality of those withdrawals, as my mother was incapicated for the past year, and would've been unable to sign anything herself. To put it kindly, her husband is a man of questionable ethical character and has had several legal troubles of his own in the past. When he went through divorce of his first wife, he destroyed much of his own property to lower any $ he would have to pay his ex-wife. He has not been allowing any of my siblings and I to even take family pictures of our mom from their house, even pictures we gave my mom of her and her grandkids. I've been trying to read up on the laws but am getting confused. It seems my siblings and I are entitled to 50% of the community property, not including the real estate. And it seems he is entitled to 100% of the 401k, if he did not sign off on us siblings being co-beneficiaries. I don't know the status of that. I'm trying to decide if it's worth pursuing this. I'm not looking for a payout, I know at the end of it all, any possible money would not be really that much. It more has to do with standing up for my mom's wishes, she wanted her children and grandchildren to have some legacy from her years of hard work. A family friend of ours overheard him once, referring to my mom's 401k, saying "those kids aren't gonna get a dime of this". Anyway, I would like to get some kind of advice as to our rights and if this is worth pursuing. I have a feeling things could get ugly if we do and I don't want to disrespect my mom by causing drama, as her oldest child I feel it's my responsibility to look into this on behalf of my mom and my siblings.

 

[army judge]

I am trying to decide if my siblings and I should go ahead with the probate process. My mother recently passed. She is divorced from our father and remarried approx. 6 years ago. She did not leave a will but she has been very sick for the past 5 years and possibly not capable or not allowed to create one. She did have a 401k account, that my 2 siblings, myself, and her husband were named as beneficiaries. Within the past year, her husband withdrew, twice, large chunks of it. So with the taxes, penalties, there is less than half remaining. We are wondering about the legality of those withdrawals, as my mother was incapicated for the past year, and would've been unable to sign anything herself. To put it kindly, her husband is a man of questionable ethical character and has had several legal troubles of his own in the past. When he went through divorce of his first wife, he destroyed much of his own property to lower any $ he would have to pay his ex-wife. He has not been allowing any of my siblings and I to even take family pictures of our mom from their house, even pictures we gave my mom of her and her grandkids. I've been trying to read up on the laws but am getting confused. It seems my siblings and I are entitled to 50% of the community property, not including the real estate. And it seems he is entitled to 100% of the 401k, if he did not sign off on us siblings being co-beneficiaries. I don't know the status of that. I'm trying to decide if it's worth pursuing this. I'm not looking for a payout, I know at the end of it all, any possible money would not be really that much. It more has to do with standing up for my mom's wishes, she wanted her children and grandchildren to have some legacy from her years of hard work. A family friend of ours overheard him once, referring to my mom's 401k, saying "those kids aren't gonna get a dime of this". Anyway, I would like to get some kind of advice as to our rights and if this is worth pursuing. I have a feeling things could get ugly if we do and I don't want to disrespect my mom by causing drama, as her oldest child I feel it's my responsibility to look into this on behalf of my mom and my siblings.

First of all, please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother.
May God comfort you and your family during this most difficult time.

If your mother left no will, there is NOTHING to be probated.
Probate courts oversee, among many other things, the assets from a will.
Your mother was married.
Your mother died intestate.
The laws of intestacy in your state now apply.
A spouse stands first in all states regarding matters of inheritance.
Her husband will inherit all of her possessions, property and monies.
She named her husband and others as beneficiary of her 401k.
That is all you will get.

Her husband's character has nothing to do with his capacity to inherit her estate.
He was her lawfully wedded husband.
The 401k administrator evidently released the funds due to her illness.
That is a reason to be allowed to withdraw those funds.
You had no standing in that matter.
You are merely a beneficiary.
You will get your portion of the distribution as was her intention.