In most states, a will is unable to disinherit a spouse. The spouse has the right to claim a share of the estate, which must be done through court. She must file a claim into court and confirm that she is due a share of the estate and the court must then put a hold on the probate of the estate and look to the provisions of the state.

There a few states that are community property states that will not allow a will to disinherit a spouse. The surviving spouse is automatically entitled to half of the assets.

If you are thinking of disinheriting your spouse you must get some legal advise before you put in writing as you want to be sure that these wishes can fulfilled.

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You can disinherit your children from your will without getting in to, too much complex legal issue.

The way it can be done is by expressly stating in your will that you want to disinherit them. Some people have usually set up some sort of trust fund for their children and therefore do not want to give anything on their death.

There are circumstances when you cannot disinherit your children, when the birth of the child is after the will was drafted. The courts will look to this, as a mistake and that you did not intentionally want to leave out that child.

This type of problem usually occurs where the parent has drafted a will and then has subsequently forgotten to revise the will.

Some states are more stringent on who you can disinherit out of your will if you are the head of the family you are prohibited from drafting a will that excludes either the surviving spouse or a child who is a minor.

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If a person dies without a will this is called “Intestate”. The state laws then come into play, which governs what happens to your estate. No body else has control over your property, only the court can distribute your assets.

The court establishes your family and then distributes your estate, usually to your spouse, children, parents, siblings and so on.

Most people have certain items that they want to pass over to certain relatives, friends and charities. That is why it is important to have a will drafted.

You must remember that if you do not make a plan for what you want to happen to your estate the court will do what the state laws provides which may not be what you want. The courts will also make decisions about the care of your children.

Probate under these circumstances becomes incredibly difficult for the family as the court do take their time in dealing with the probate sale, which can span over the course of two – three years. Where the deceased was the only source of income settling the estate becomes a financial burden on the family.

If a will is something you are not comfortable dealing with yourself but do not want to pay the heavy lawyer fees try online legal document.

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Now if there is a Will the probate process becomes a little easier as the deceased will have given specific instructions as to how his estate is to be allocated.  Any assets, including properties, stocks and shares, funds held in current or savings accounts will be handed over to the personal representative who is under an obligation to gather information about the assets and report to the court.

Although, this looks straightforward when there is a will in place. Look out for those who wish to file a petition against the validity of the will or their right to a claim part of the estate. The court must consider the petition carefully as a rejection can lead to a lawsuit claim sum of the estate.

The real stress factor starts when there is no will. This is called intestate and the law will provide guidance to the courts on how to distribute the assets.  The law of intestate provides for the court to look at the family tree of the deceased and will then make a decision as to who gets what.

Depending on the deceased last known place of residence that counties court will hear the application for probate. Also be careful where the deceased has property has properties in other counties and states, an further probate application must be lodged in the state that the property is in.

The court can only deal with assets that are owned and belong solely to the deceased and all assets that are either dealt with by trust or joint tenancy, which are automatically transferred they are set aside by the court.

It is quite often difficult to know all the ins and outs of someone’s life, especially when it comes to debts. One of the major reasons that probate matters take so long is that just when you think you have everything distributed equally, another creditor comes along and stakes his claim. It is the duty of personal representative to make sure all debts are settled. Again, creditors can lodge petitions on the court and the personal representative.

Just to give you an idea, it can take up to three years for the court to distribute and settle the estate, if there is no will, the authenticity of the will is dubious or that an unknown beneficiary comes along to question the settlement of the estate. This is sometimes referred to as a Probate sale, where the court takes over everything, which is why it takes so long for them to deal with matter. This also becomes very expensive and naturally erodes away at the estate.

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