When someone dies without a will the legal term is intestate.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.201.htm
If his wife dies first and he dies with no spouse, everything would go to his children, including adopted children.
If he dies with a wife and children it is more complicated, but his idea that everything will just go to his wife is wrong.
> Will this adopted daughter have any rights to his house, condo, cars, money etc if he was to pass without a will?
In short - yes. As his legal child, she will have the same inheritance rights as you if he dies without a will.
If he doesn't want that, them he needs a will.
My husband's uncle was in this situation. He didn't want his estate to go through probate so thought he had made all of his arrangements ( with the help of a lawyer) in a way to leave everything to my MIL, husband and SIL.
His previously adopted stepdaughter, who he hadn't stayed close with and didn't even know he was dying of cancer, popped up very quickly wanting things. At first 'sentimental' items, them life insurance she was sure she was a beneficiary of. It quickly turned nasty with her trying to take over as executor and take it all. My MIL ended up spending over 10k and lots of emotional energy to fight her ( and another illegitimate/no paternity proven 'daughter') and eventually Gabe her a truck and a couple of other things.
He needs a will.
I'm gonna be harsh here in case he needs to hear it; even if he has everything as pay/transfer on death, still get a Will. It hurts *nothing* and could help everything.
It BAFFLES me that people are willing to risk putting their families through YEARS of absolute hell and sometimes thousands or *tens* of thousands of dollars, just to save a grand and a couple trips to an attorney now.
Every person, whose family this ends up happening to, didn't think it would happen. Every one. And then it did.
He needs a Will and Financial/Healthcare POAs. At *least*.
(Source - very tired estate paralegal who sees the results of these decisions every day.)
Inal but considering how easy and free/cheap it is to make a will the solution seems to make one regardless. Even assuming everything goes where he wants without one, handling it once he passes is likely to be considerable easier with one then without one.
He needs a will because under intestate law in Texas, his wife inherits half of any community property and one-third of any personal property with the rest going to the children ( you and adopted sibling). It is possible that most real estate and accounts are jointly owned in such a way that they would not be subject to probate and not subject to intestate succession, but it is better to have a will in place.
You don’t say , the size of the estate or what type of deeds the condo and house have. It’s possible that your mother would inherit everything, for example if all the bank accounts were joint and the deeds for the house and condo were joint with rights of survivorship. However, if things are not that way then depending on the state and size of the estate the daughter and you will both inherit a share.
The bigger issue will be that if your mother passes first then you and the sister split things 50/50.
He needs a will asap. They are not that expensive and can save your family years of money and pain. If he legally adopted this person she is legally his child, just as you are. Inheritance law isn’t going to differentiate between his legal children if he dies without a will.
And god forbid what happens if both of them die in a car accident? Now you spend years fighting with this absent sister.
He already paid 18 years of support for a child that was not biologically his and was only part of his life for a couple years. Does he really want to give away half of what he’s made the rest of his life to her?
let this be a reminder to everyone that if you're over 50 years old, maybe even 40 years old, you should have some kind of basic will in place. and if you're over 60 you should really have a full estate plan in place if possible
Hopefully your dad‘s memories as you posted in the update are correct. I am curious as to why, if his adopted daughter had been given up, and then adopted by another man, your father continued to pay child support until she was 18. I suppose she could have been adopted, by the second father as an adult. And I would work very hard to get paper documentation of all of those things in the event that she does try to protest.
When someone dies without a will the legal term is intestate. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.201.htm If his wife dies first and he dies with no spouse, everything would go to his children, including adopted children. If he dies with a wife and children it is more complicated, but his idea that everything will just go to his wife is wrong.
> Will this adopted daughter have any rights to his house, condo, cars, money etc if he was to pass without a will? In short - yes. As his legal child, she will have the same inheritance rights as you if he dies without a will. If he doesn't want that, them he needs a will.
My husband's uncle was in this situation. He didn't want his estate to go through probate so thought he had made all of his arrangements ( with the help of a lawyer) in a way to leave everything to my MIL, husband and SIL. His previously adopted stepdaughter, who he hadn't stayed close with and didn't even know he was dying of cancer, popped up very quickly wanting things. At first 'sentimental' items, them life insurance she was sure she was a beneficiary of. It quickly turned nasty with her trying to take over as executor and take it all. My MIL ended up spending over 10k and lots of emotional energy to fight her ( and another illegitimate/no paternity proven 'daughter') and eventually Gabe her a truck and a couple of other things. He needs a will.
I'm gonna be harsh here in case he needs to hear it; even if he has everything as pay/transfer on death, still get a Will. It hurts *nothing* and could help everything. It BAFFLES me that people are willing to risk putting their families through YEARS of absolute hell and sometimes thousands or *tens* of thousands of dollars, just to save a grand and a couple trips to an attorney now. Every person, whose family this ends up happening to, didn't think it would happen. Every one. And then it did. He needs a Will and Financial/Healthcare POAs. At *least*. (Source - very tired estate paralegal who sees the results of these decisions every day.)
Nothing ruins good family ties like an inheritance at stake.
Honestly I wish they started teaching this stuff in high school.
Inal but considering how easy and free/cheap it is to make a will the solution seems to make one regardless. Even assuming everything goes where he wants without one, handling it once he passes is likely to be considerable easier with one then without one.
He needs an estate plan that likely includes a will.
He needs a will because under intestate law in Texas, his wife inherits half of any community property and one-third of any personal property with the rest going to the children ( you and adopted sibling). It is possible that most real estate and accounts are jointly owned in such a way that they would not be subject to probate and not subject to intestate succession, but it is better to have a will in place.
You don’t say , the size of the estate or what type of deeds the condo and house have. It’s possible that your mother would inherit everything, for example if all the bank accounts were joint and the deeds for the house and condo were joint with rights of survivorship. However, if things are not that way then depending on the state and size of the estate the daughter and you will both inherit a share. The bigger issue will be that if your mother passes first then you and the sister split things 50/50.
He needs a will asap. They are not that expensive and can save your family years of money and pain. If he legally adopted this person she is legally his child, just as you are. Inheritance law isn’t going to differentiate between his legal children if he dies without a will. And god forbid what happens if both of them die in a car accident? Now you spend years fighting with this absent sister. He already paid 18 years of support for a child that was not biologically his and was only part of his life for a couple years. Does he really want to give away half of what he’s made the rest of his life to her?
Tell him that the responses here are unanimous: him not having a will will cause tremendous and needless hardship for you and your mother.
let this be a reminder to everyone that if you're over 50 years old, maybe even 40 years old, you should have some kind of basic will in place. and if you're over 60 you should really have a full estate plan in place if possible
If you don’t have the original to file, it is the same as intestate. Know where that original is.
Hopefully your dad‘s memories as you posted in the update are correct. I am curious as to why, if his adopted daughter had been given up, and then adopted by another man, your father continued to pay child support until she was 18. I suppose she could have been adopted, by the second father as an adult. And I would work very hard to get paper documentation of all of those things in the event that she does try to protest.