My Father-in-law passed July 2012. He retired from the railroad,was 'married' 4xs, has 5 children. He was married to wife #2 in Indiana (mothered 3 of his children) and filed for divorce 1989 (not 100% sure that was the year) then 'remarried' 2xs after. 10 months before his passing he moved out of the home that he & wife #4 shared. He had a will stating that all his assets were to go to his 5 children (he did not father any children with wife 3&4) but had wife #4 as benefactor on all of his accounts (retirement, life insurance etc..) Well wife #2 filed for a portion of his retirement benefits, turns out that she & father-in-law were never legally divorced. The railroad recognizes wife #2 as his legal spouse and has taken wife #4's name off of his benefits. I'm not 100% sure where a majority of his benefits are, but I do know his total assets amount to approx $3.5million. Before Father-in-law passed he stated that all of his money was in stocks & bonds- I do know that the railroad offered him a lot of stock as part of his retirement, is this counted as his retirement benefits from the railroad or would this be in an investor account? My main question is what options does wife #2 have in making sure that wife #4 does not get anything except the vehicles they shared (both names on title with survivorship listed) . Sorry this is so long winded and complicated. It's been a nightmare for my husband & his siblings.
Answer
It would seem that wife #2 would be well advised to arrange for a
consultation with an attorney who handles probate as well as railroad
retirement issues and who is far more likely to be able to dispense
competent advice on these questions than anyone in this forum.
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