Spouses’ Rights

What Does a Surviving Spouse Inherit?

What Does a Surviving Spouse Inherit - Patti Spencer

The question of what a surviving spouse inherits from a deceased spouse is a complicated one. At common law, a wife was not an heir, although she might be entitled to support. Many people are surprised to hear that a surviving spouse does not simply inherit everything from the deceased spouse. That can be a… Read More

Surviving Spouse Options as Beneficiary

A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account named after the United States Congressman William Victor Roth Jr., who was the legislative sponsor of the bill creating this plan. When a traditional IRA is converted to a Roth, all before-tax contributions made to the IRA become taxable; and the income tax must be paid. But… Read More

Joint Accounts – Yours, mine and Ours

What does it mean if your name is on someone else’s bank account? It depends. For all deposit accounts, the rights of the parties to a multiple party account are determined under the Pennsylvania Multiple-Party Account Act. A joint account is one that is payable on request to one or more parties whether or not… Read More

Should you have a Marriage Contract?

A little boy asked his father, “Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?” And the father replied, “I don’t know, son, I’m still paying for it.” Should you have a marriage contract? It’s a misleading question, as pointed out by the National Resource Center for Consumers of Legal Services. The fact is, if… Read More

You Can’t Disinherit Your Spouse

In Pennsylvania, you can disinherit your children, but you can’t disinherit your spouse. In fact, in all but one of the fifty states, you cannot disinherit a spouse. In Georgia it is permitted. If you leave a will that makes little or no provision for your surviving spouse, or if you have arranged title of… Read More