Son, widow of Teddy Pendergrass battle over estate

i would think that the wife's will would also have to have teddy's signature to be valid.

i also think that a person would have to specifically state that he omits heirs if there is someone who would be entitled to the estate. case in point: mj's will specifically omitted his older kids' mother, debbie rowe, and specifically stated that any other heirs not named are omitted. under the law, i think, his siblings could have tried to mount a challenge to be included as beneficiaries if he had not specifically disinheirited them in this manner.

if this woman was married to teddy at the time of his death, could she be completely cut off, which the son's will purports? it's one thing to omit a divorced wife and siblings from your will like mj, but could teddy disinheirit a wife, and only name a son if she is legally entitled to inheirit under the law?

see, this is why i wanted to take the will and estate class this semester instead of the family law class (i'm studying for my paralegal certificate). damn you california budget cuts!!!

what a mess

The short answer.

You can’t disinherit your spouse completely, unless you and your spouse have waived the right to be included in the other's estate in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement (agreements made before or after the marriage). Each state has laws that shield a surviving spouse from being completely cut off. In a community property state (such as California) the surviving spouse already owns half of the property at the death of the other spouse. Laws shielding a surviving spouse - what percentage of the elective share the surviving spouse gets - varies from state to state.

Generally you can disinherit an adult child or children. To do so, it is necessary to specifically say in the Will that the omission is intentional. Often Wills have language along these lines: "I have previously taken care of my daughter Trina during my lifetime, and have chosen to leave nothing to her in this Will.” Similarly, “I am leaving nothing to my son Timmy, for reasons known to both of us." If a child is a minor, state provides an allowance to support the child until they reach the age of majority.

[Edited 10/7/10 8:09am]

It depends on what Teddy's will was about... if the will was just in the widow's name, they'll throw the case. If the son and Teddy's other children were entitled to earn anything and they felt (or he) that the widow was trying to cut them out of it, then it'll be a battle. This unfortunately reminds me of the James Brown situation.

TD3 said:

The short answer.

You can’t disinherit your spouse completely, unless you and your spouse have waived the right to be included in the other's estate in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement (agreements made before or after the marriage). Each state has laws that shield a surviving spouse from being completely cut off. In a community property state (such as California) the surviving spouse already owns half of the property at the death of the other spouse. Laws shielding a surviving spouse - what percentage of the elective share the surviving spouse gets - varies from state to state.

Generally you can disinherit an adult child or children. To do so, it is necessary to specifically say in the Will that the omission is intentional. Often Wills have language along these lines: "I have previously taken care of my daughter Trina during my lifetime, and have chosen to leave nothing to her in this Will.” Similarly, “I am leaving nothing to my son Timmy, for reasons known to both of us." If a child is a minor, state provides an allowance to support the child until they reach the age of majority.

[Edited 10/7/10 8:09am]

that's what i thought. i know that in our family law class, we have touched upon the fact that in prenups, you can't generally do something that would have a disparate impact on someone's rights that they would normally have unless there is specific evidence that they are aware that they've given those rights up, have been advised by counsel, and counsel signs off on the document. i know that would include the right to inherit under CA law.

i don't know that they will necessarily throw the will that was just in the widow's name. do children automatically inherit if there is a will which names the spouse as the sole heir? think about the yoko ono situation. if i'm not mistaken, yoko inherited all of john's estate according to his will (he might have mentioned sean, too). julian, john's son from a previous marriage, was not mentioned at all. i believe there has been a lot of friction because yoko did not choose to provide for julian, or maybe not to the extent that he believed he was entitled, and i don't recall a court forcing her to do it.

i think if teddy had died intestate, i could see the court doing a 50/50 split between his children and the spouse, but if the wife's will is valid, i could see the court admitting it. curiously, on the other hand, i'm not sure that the son's will is valid for reasons that td3 has been so kind to point out. i think that current spouses have rights over adult children.

anyway, it will be interesting to see how it shakes out. i know watching the mj case has been fascinating. just yesterday, brian oxman was trying once again to get mj's executors thrown off.

More often than not when factions are fighting over an estate, a testator didn't take care of their business. The devils are in the details and how it pertains to Pennsylvania's Last Will and Testament Law. Since I'm not privy to what the competing Wills say or the specifics of Pennsylvania law, I can't say yea or nay. What I think you wouldn't want, the state making decisions about how your assets should be divided.

All of this can be avoided, everyone should have a will. I don't care if your net worth is a 100 thousands dollars or a hundred million dollars, I've witnessed people fight over much less. It's best to find a lawyer who is an OSBA Certified Specialist in Estate Planning Trust Probate Law. My advice to parents who have children from a previous marriage. Whatever you want your children to have, give it to them before your die or put it in a trust. Don't depend on your spouse to carry out your wishes because many of them don't.

Wedding and funerals bring out the worst in people.