Question: My brother recently died. His domestic partner of 15-17 years has employed a lawyer who has sent me and my other 3 siblings a letter asking us to renounce all claims to his estate. We feel that our brother may have left some financial parts of his estate to us as beneficiaries of those parts (i.e. life insurance or 401k’s). His domestic partner (not legally married) has told us that she can’t establish any legal claim to his estate unless we totally renounce all claims to his estate. We only want to receive whatever my brother intended us to have. We are happy to let the rest of his estate be claimed by his partner. We want to know if we must renounce all claims in order for her to proceed and what is the best way for us to proceed to resolve this issue.

Answer provided by: Ellen S. Fischer, Esq. from the law firm of Fenningham Dempster & Coval LLP

[uam_ad id=”54865″]

I am so sorry to hear that your brother died, but I also commend you and your siblings for considering his partner’s loss as well.

Your brother has obviously died without having prepared a Last Will and Testament. This is known as dying “intestate”. Under the intestate laws, when the decedent is not married, his estate passes first to his children and if no children, then to his parents, and if no parents, then to his siblings. I assume, then, that your brother has no children and that your parents have predeceased him.  

You received a letter asking that you renounce all claims, because if you do not renounce, then his estate (his assets) passes to you and your siblings by virtue of the laws of intestate. In addition, you and your siblings (or any one of you) are entitled to be the Administrator of his Estate, so you are also being asked to renounce this right.

The question you pose regarding a renunciation of your right to inherit your brother’s estate requires an understanding of just what is included in someone’s estate.

Ordinarily, a life insurance policy names a beneficiary as does a 401k. If your brother’s life insurance policy and 401k names a beneficiary, then these assets are not part of the estate, but rather are distributed to the person(s) your brother named as beneficiaries. The naming of a beneficiary is evidence of your brother’s intention to have these assets distributed directly to the named beneficiary.

On the other hand, if your brother did not name a beneficiary, particularly on his 401k, then this asset will become a part of his estate.

Before you renounce anything, I would suggest you ask his partner’s lawyer to let you know what his estate includes. You should not be asked to renounce without knowing just what you are renouncing. If there are no named beneficiaries on his life insurance and 401k, then I would suggest that your brother evidenced an intention that these be a part of his estate which you have indicated you are willing to renounce so that his partner can be his sole beneficiary. And, yes, she cannot move forward with the administration of his estate until you and your siblings renounce your rights to be the Administrator, which is the person who is responsible for gathering all of his assets and debts, “probating” his estate and preparing all necessary legal documents. She is apparently also asking that you renounce your right to receive estate assets.

To arrange a free consultation with attorney Ellen S. Fischer, Esq., one of several member attorneys in Montgomery County who is experienced in collaborative law, click here to email a Montgomery Bar Association LRS advisor now (LRS@montgomerybar.org), or call 610-994-3656 during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 AM-4PM). If contacting us by phone, please be sure to mention this attorney’s name and how you heard.about us. Automated referrals to other Montgomery Bar Association member-attorneys in your area offering free or deeply discounted collaborative divorce consultations through our service are available Online anytime at RealLawyers.org.

Submit your anonymous legal questions to AskARealLawyer@montgomerybar.org.
Look for answers here from one of our attorney panelists, and in Monday editions of MONTCO.TODAY!

[uam_ad id=”54875″]