Do step children have any rights when their dad or mom dies and the stepparent does not want to give you anything? And do I have a right to see my dad's will after he has passed, shouldn't I have been given one? What should I do? I can't afford any attorney.
1) Are you even sure there is a will?
2) What do you mean when you say the stepparent doesn't want to give you anything?
IF he wrote a will and IF you were named as an inheritor, then yes, legally you should receive a copy. If you didn't, but you suspect anything is amiss, once it is filed with the court you can request to see it (again, IF there is a will.) If you were NOT named in the will as inheriting anything, then the stepparent has NO obligation to give you anything.
If he did NOT have a will, the legal proceedings would happen per your state laws for someone who dies intestate.
"Is a child entitled to inherit something?
Generally, children have no right to inherit anything from their parents. In certain limited circumstances, however, children may be entitled to claim a share of a deceased parent's property. ... In some states, these laws apply not only to children, but also to any grandchildren of a child who has died."
Source: Inheritance Rights | Nolo
Details can be seen at:
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/inheritance-rights-29607.html
Viewing the will, if there is one, once it has been accepted through probate court does not require hiring a lawyer, and most likely is free. If there's no will, most likely the wife gets all - depends on state laws. You can inquire about that if there's no will.
But, in general, as others have stated, unless you're born into a family with millions, don't be counting on inheriting anything. There are NO guarantees and the average person probably doesn't have a lot to leave to progeny.
If there was something your Dad wanted you to have he should have mentioned it in his Will or written a codicil. If SM is the Executor it really is part of her responsibility to inform the beneficiaries what is left to them in a Will. If she probates the Will it will become public and then u can request a copy. Your Dad may have left everything to her and visa versa. This is usually what is done between spouses and in my State there is no Probate needed in this type of Will.
All you can do is ask your SM if you can have something personal of Dads. If he died without a Will, then the State will step in. Not sure how it works when there are biological and step-children involved. In my state the wife gets 75% and the children 25% between them. I would think the 25% would be Dads children not hers.
My mom's will actually has posthumous 'bills' that my YB and I both 'owe' to the estate. This is cruel and hurtful and in my YB's case, he's the one who has cared for mom for 24 years! and she's dunning him for $6K. Mom kept telling me she wanted all her kids to read her will, and I did one day, waiting for her to come home. Wow---I know she wanted me to see that 'bill' and she wanted me to be just as hurt as I was. I've never spoken to her about it--what's the point? but it hurt me so deeply.
My YB who is her FPOA was alerted and he took the offending piece of paper out of the will. It wasn't legal, not by any stretch of the imagination. Mom was just mad over something, I'll never know what---and I told YB I would HAPPILY write a check and he could cash it and put it in her savings if he wanted. BUT I didn't want other YB to ever know she'd dinged him for $6K, after all her has done for her.
Wills are important, so that the deceased can 'rest easy' that things went the way they wanted. But they can also bring a tremendous amount of hurt and pain.
Ours splits everything in fifths. All monies lent or given over the years are forgiven and each child gets the same amount.
However, since all out kids make way more money than we do--we may change the will in years to come to give all our money to our church. The kids don't need it. Maybe the grands, for college.
Time and situations change. Don't ever expect to inherit. My DH has been written out of his mother's will b/c he stays married to me. If he would divorce me, he would be back in.
Now, THAT hurts. And since he is STILL executor, he will be writing checks to his 2 sibs and not even allowed to take an hourly fee for all the work he'll do.
At least we know before the fact.
If he died without a will, then again, depending on your state laws, his assets would be distributed according to the heirship laws for your state.
You could go to the courthouse for the county where your dad resided and get information that might be helpful or look on their website or the states website or hire an attorney.
I know that in some states if your dad died intestate, then the spouse is only entitled to half the estate whereas in another state the spouse might inherit all the community property but only 1/3 of the separate personal property. So, look up your state and see what you find.
Im sorry for the loss of your father.