Robin williams
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Seems he is not cold in his grave and his wife of less than 3 years and his kids are already fighting over his property. She filed the first motion, blocking them from various collections in the house
that seem to be rightfully theirs. She does get the current house, but all his effects prior to marriage go to his kids. There was a pre nup. She sounds like the greedy one!
It doesn't make the marriage
It doesn't make the marriage less legal or valid, but there are varying degrees of issues presenting here. My dad died broke; I could care less about money or material things, so I don't give a hoot about an inheritance. He was on wife #3, who kicked him out after 7 months of marriage, then proceeded to throw herself on his coffin several times at the funeral. I got no personal affects whatsoever, I would've settled for one of his flannel shirts. Months later, she gave my uncle some of my dads "junk"- he found my dad's St. Christopher medal in there and he offered that to us kids. My brother graciously let me take it.
"If he had been a blue collar
"If he had been a blue collar worker,would she have been interested in a man who had so much trauma in his life?" The answer could be yes. Lots of women out there looking for potential fixer uppers in a mate.
Based on the article linked
Based on the article linked above it sounds as if Mrs. Williams is highly manipulative and is blocking Mr. Williams' children from taking possession of specific personal affects as stipulated in his Will.
A no cost home for life, a very valuable home at that, and a trust fund is a generous bequeathment for a recent spouse IMHO. Sure, all marriages should in an ideal world be considered equally but for serial nuptialists the fact is that not all marriages are equal.
In my case my first marriage carries far less value and weight than my current 20+ year marriage to my amazing bride.
Obviously there is a Will and eventually this all will be resolved. Hopefully without the news that one party of the other stole something that Mr. Williams intended for a specific person who did not get it because it was sold or mysteriously disappeared.
My bride and I are fortunate. We married when we had shit for nada and everything we have we built together. Obviously nowhere near as significant an estate as Mork built during his brilliant career but a modestly notable estate none the less. SS is our only child and ultimately whatever is left upon the demise of his mom and I will all go to him with the exception of a few family heirlooms that will go to my brother and his kids…. Unless SS wants me to adopt him in which case … those heirlooms will go to the Skid too.
I have no doubt that the type of situation that the Robin Williams estate and family will go through is extremely difficult for all of the family members involved. Spouse, spawn, etc… Very painful for everyone.
I dont know why we assume
I dont know why we assume just because that's "his wife" that she is #1 and above everything else. Yes he married her. No I dont know this woman or their marriage. But I dont like this general consenus that because that's "his wife" that she is almighty and powerful. Especially this day and age where marriage is not taken that seriously.
And I say this because someone can be a "wife" and be a crappy person. A lot of our BM's were "a wife" at one time. Just because they are wife on paper doesnt mean that they were a good person or deserving of the benefits of their husband anymore then the husband's children do.
He had a prenup. She should stick to it. Just because she is "his wife" doesnt mean she deserves everything.
All this screaming "But I am
All this screaming "But I am his WIFE!" is almost as bad as "I am her MOTHER!" (GUBM) "I am his DAUGHTER!" "He is my EX!"
I agree completely. Believe
I agree completely.
Believe it or not, not all step kids are horrible. And not all wives/step moms are wonderful, innocent women who are just being run over by their husbands' children.
Skids are never right! SM
Skids are never right! SM (WIFE!) is always right.
Yeah, that's what I've seen
Yeah, that's what I've seen too - the kids are supposed to inherit certain items, and those items are in the house that the wife gets. I've also read that her attorney said she's not "blocking" the will, she's "seeking clarification on certain points" in the will. *eye roll* And THAT sounds very much like, "I don't like the will and I'm trying to see if I can find a legal loophole to keep more stuff." Which is crappy of her.
"...DW is arguing that if the
"...DW is arguing that if the kids take what was willed to them, the home will be almost empty..."
Call me crazy, but if I ended up with a house in that area, I wouldn't give a damn if they took everything out of it. There would be nothing stopping me from working and replacing all the stuff the kids take. Talk about being greedy, entitled and lazy.
From the article it indicates
From the article it indicates that the kids never enterred the home. Apparently the executors of the Estate entered the home to remove some items clearly indicated as not remaining in the the DW's home post (Mr. Williams) mortem.
From the article the tone I get is that the DW is being pretty cagey and the kids are less so.
IMHO of course.
This is why by the time I
This is why by the time I die..I hope I own nothing...wherever there's a will......there's a line of "relatives" fighting over it. ...sheesh..
THIS Some of these men are
THIS
Some of these men are just remarrying because they don't want to be alone. Hell, some of these jerks aren't even over their ex-wives when they jump into the next marriage.
I read the article on Yahoo.
I read the article on Yahoo. It states that Robin William's wife wants mementos from their marriage such as his tux, etc. He DID have a pre-nup which should be honored. She should be entitled to what is in his will, but this has demonstrated that not all items are listed in the will.
The comments people wrote at the bottom of the article were quite eye-opening. One person wrote that after all of the legal fees there was very little left. I'll try to be more careful with mine. I'm concerned because DH refuses to make out a will. I have covered myself as best as I can, the house is designated to go to the spouse on the event of death, but still I am a bit uncomfortable knowing how SD feels about me.
How is the house designated
How is the house designated to go to the spouse if there is no will? Just wondering. Each state is different and many non common property states give the spouse a certain dollar value plus half of the remaining estate. The rest go to the deceased's kids.
In our state, when you
In our state, when you purchase a house the standard escrow form has a block which states that the home shall go to the spouse in the event of death - another block for not. I also designated a beneficiary for my savings accounts so they will go to charity rather than SD. A local paralegal said this was binding, I was covered. But Robin William's case made me realize that there are other things besides a house and savings to think about.
Interesting and good to know.
Interesting and good to know. I need to check my state laws.
Robin Williams mind was
Robin Williams mind was chaotic long before this woman married him. It was the chaotic mind that made him famous and rich. So are the mothers of the children also to be bitch-slapped about because they married a man with mental issues? What does that do to the inheritance status of the kids born of such "abusive" unions?
The younger two children are born as the result of an affair Robin had with the nanny of his first child. NANNY. So let's cancel out their inheritance because their mother's union with Robin was clearly illicit and she was obviously a gold digger and homewrecker so that marriage didn't really count.
So that leaves Zak. But wait, under the "she married a man with clear mental instability so her marriage doesn't count" rule, Zak's mother's union isn't terribly valid, either.
Well, we could also say that Susan is the only wife he didn't divorce so hers is the only true marriage! She may have even prolonged his life by those 3 years. Maybe he would have done it sooner if he hadn't had her to soothe him and inspire him and keep his feet somewhere on earth at times. So she should get it all, will and pre-nup be damned!
Or maybe we should stop throwing the Evil Stepmother filtered spotlight on this poor woman and say that each marriage is equal under the law and be done with it. Honor all legal documents: the will, the pre-nup, AND the marriage license. What's wrong with kids making their own way in the world? Again, why on earth is this woman's marriage only a pretend one?
The widow isn't trying to
The widow isn't trying to disinherit the kids, she objected to strangers coming into her house and raiding everything there while she wasn't home. I would object to that, too.
From what I've read of the will and trust, Robin intended her to continue her life as they had lived it together in that house. He set it up so all house related expenses would be paid and so forth. He wanted her there. That was Robin's WILL. It's quite a stretch to imagine he'd approve of the house being emptied out.
And, yes, upthread people did actually say her marriage didn't really count because he "wasn't in his right mind" when he married her and because they'd been married "only" three years.
This thread is a nightmare. DH and I have been married 2 years but I know it's been the happiest 2 years of his entire life bar none. I brought plenty of my own assets into this marriage and we also built things together. In some ways my contribution is not visible to outsiders. How much is it worth my tutoring his son, getting the child a social life, relieving his dad of various other burdens and worries, even me just making dinner so dad can play with kids instead of be in the kitchen himself? But because we've only been married 2 years I can just see people throwing not only everything we've built together but also my own assets at his kids if something should happen to him. When does my marriage get to be the "real" one? He spent 14 years with BM, miserable every minute. But she will always rank higher than me? Fuck that. Fuck. That.
"she objected to strangers
"she objected to strangers coming into her house and raiding everything there while she wasn't home."
Absolutely agree. I wonder about the legality of the situation. How is it alright for someone to just waltz into HER home and gather items w/out her permission? When is that ever ok w/out a warrant? All the items in that home were willed to her. I can see why she is questioning the wording of the will.
First tragically losing her husband then having her home and privacy invaded. Now having the legitimacy of her marriage tossed aside because he was a messed up celebrity and they were married for ONLY 3 years?! I'm guessing he was lucky to have such a beautiful intelligent woman in his life.
"Or maybe we should stop
"Or maybe we should stop throwing the Evil Stepmother filtered spotlight on this poor woman and say that each marriage is equal under the law and be done with it. Honor all legal documents: the will, the pre-nup, AND the marriage license. What's wrong with kids making their own way in the world? Again, why on earth is this woman's marriage only a pretend one?"
You sympathize with smom. That's fine, and I can see why you would. But one could just as easily write this:
Or maybe we should stop throwing the Evil Stepchildren filtered spotlight on these poor kids and say that his marriage has nothing to do with whether his children get any inheritance. Honor all legal documents: the will, the pre-nup, AND the death certificate. What's wrong with a grown woman making her own way in the world? Again, why on earth does this woman's marriage mean she gets to override his final wishes?
My father died as husband to
My father died as husband to my mother. He was pretty successful. I haven't seen a dime. Mother is rolling in it. I never thought twice about it. I have wished for more mementoes, but they are under her control and I've had to let it go.
Just because your parent dies doesn't mean you automatically get a windfall. The spouse is first in line. The end. Why is this woman's marriage to Robin Williams less valid than my mother's? Why are Robin's kids more entitled to their dad's estate than I and my siblings were to our dad's? It's ridiculous. Marriage creates a financial unit. A legal one. Robin chose her to create this unit with. CHOSE.
If the spouse makes more complicated arrangements, so be it. Robin did. Just because his wife wasn't their mother(s) (remember, one of the mothers was a homewrecking, golddigging, affair partner) doesn't make the kids higher on the totem pole. Follow the legal documents as filed.
Furthermore, one of the items they are fighting over is the comic book collection. As I've read tidbits from the will and trust, there really is room to disagree about that one. Doesn't make the wife a gold digger.
Just noticed this. In your
Just noticed this. In your re-write of my paragraph, the marriage certificate means nothing? Really? The death certificate is not in dispute, we all agree the man is dead. Death certificate does not dispose of assets. But a marriage certificate is relevant to the disposition of assets. At least it is in my world and every court in America. But a marriage certificate means nothing to you, really?
"What's wrong with kids
"What's wrong with kids making their own way in the world?" Funny how this only seems to appy to kids and divorced women. What's wrong with his widow making her own way in the world?