The Widowed Stepmother | Trust Inheritance Disputes

I’m Mike Hackard. Our California law firm, Hackard Law, regularly litigates probate and trust litigation disputes.

A significant number of these disputes involve fights between a decedent’s biological children from an earlier marriage and the decedent’s second or third spouse. These cases end up in the California Superior Courts.

Cases generally considering the rights of heirs and trust beneficiaries are filed in the probate courts and are tried without a jury. Financial elder abuse cases, cases that can be tried before a jury, are often filed in the civil divisions of the Superior Courts.

I’ve written a book that addresses in part fractured inheritance, lost inheritance and disinheritance disputes between widowed stepmother’s and their deceased spouse’s biological children. The book, titled Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers & Estate Crimes, will be available on Amazon on March 1, 2019.

The focus on stepmothers is driven by demographics. It’s estimated that 40% of married couples with children in the United States are step couples. Approximately one-third of all-American weddings form stepfamilies. Forty percent (40%) of all new marriages are remarriages. Women live on average five years longer than men. Widowed women far outnumber widowed men, 11.2 million to 2.9 million.

So, it stands to reason that a dispute between a decedent’s biological children and a stepparent dispute it statistically far more likely with a stepmother. I hope that you will read my new book.

If you want to learn more my earlier book, The Wolf at the Door, also has a chapter, titled “Stepmothers and Estate Litigation.” The books cover a lot of ground.

If you have a California probate or trust case and you want to discuss it with us, call us at 916 313-3030. Hackard Law litigates substantial cases where we think that we can make a significant difference and there is a wrongdoer who can be made financially responsible for their wrongdoing.

This year, 2019, we are paying particular attention to significant cases in the East Bay – including San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara Counties.