Cairo, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

All of this can be accomplished with the help of an estate planning attorney. If you'd like to be proactive about it, rather than wait for your parents to do the job, scout around for potential estate planners to help and introduce them to your mother and father. The attorney will want and need to visit with your parents to learn precisely what they want. After that, the attorney can prepare the appropriate documents and help your parents execute them.

I am sorry to hear of your dad's condition and of the possible manipulation by your stepmother.   As for your question, however: you can't prevent your father from changing his Will, even if you think your stepmother is effectively forcing him to follow her wishes rather than his own. What you MAY be able to do includes the following options:   1. If you think he is truly incompetent and that your stepmother is committing physical, emotional, and/or financial abuse with regard to him or neglecting his welfare, then you (or someone else) may be able to seek appointment as his guardian and conservator while he is still living. If a court agrees that he is incapacitated and in need of a guardian or conservator, then the appointment of that person can help make sure that he is being care for appropriately and that his assets are being used for his benefit and not wasted, stolen, or used inappropriately.   2. If he dies and you do not believe that any Will that is offered for probate for his estate is not a valid expression of his wishes (because someone exercised undue influence over him, the Will was not correctly executed, or because he did not have the level of competency necessary to make the Will), then you can try to challenge the Will. It's more difficult to do, but you might also be able to challenge beneficiary designations, trusts, or rights of survivorship that result in your dad's assets being transferred to others outside of his Will if you think that those were created under circumstances that make them invalid.   Either of these options means that you need to hire an attorney who does fiduciary litigation and handles contested guardianships/conservatorships or contested estates. You should likely assume that there will be an expensive, lengthy legal battle, and you should not assume that there will be any financial reward in it for you. However, if you are really concerned about your father's welfare, then you should look into option 1 and perhaps pursue it- that's the best way to protect him while he is still living, and it may also help ensure that his eventual post-death wishes come to pass.   Best wishes to you and your famiily.  

The answer depends in part upon who died first, your husband or the ex-wife? Another important factor is what does the divorce decree state? What is the property worth? What is the total value of your deceased husband's estate? Did he have a Will? Do you have a prenuptial agreement? Are any of the children minors at the date of his death? The question you ask is not a simple question. You should seek legal counsel and bring with you a copy of the divorce decree and information about the assets and the value of such assets in your husband's estate, without that it is difficult to determine your rights.