{"id":12946,"date":"2024-06-23T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2024-06-23T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltalktexas.hammerle.com\/?p=12946"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:28:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T17:28:38","slug":"the-myth-of-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/the-myth-of-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"The Myth of Fair: Meet the Abstract Term That Never Survives Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suppose your mom and dad are married for 40 years, and then your mom dies. She leaves a will naming your dad as her primary beneficiary, with you as the contingent beneficiary in the event your dad died before she did. Your dad survives her, so you get nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s ok, you think. You\u2019ve seen your dad\u2019s will, and you are the <\/span>beneficiary<\/span><\/a> if your mom predeceases him. When he dies, you will inherit the entire estate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A year later, despite your fervent opposition, your dad remarries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your dad and that woman-who-is-not-your-mother live happily together for several months, and then your dad dies. Only then do you discover that he has changed his will and his accounts to leave everything to his new wife. You are still mentioned in your dad\u2019s will, but only as a contingent beneficiary in the event his new wife does not survive him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding What a Contingent Beneficiary Means<\/span><\/h2>\n

She does survive him, however, and so you get nothing from your dad\u2019s estate and, by extension, your mom\u2019s estate. No <\/span>family heirlooms<\/span><\/a>, no money, no life insurance proceeds, no investments. Not even the Ferrari you and your dad had lovingly restored decades ago and which he had always promised that you would get when he died.<\/span><\/p>\n

You protest to everyone who will listen (and a few who will not) that being cut out of your dad\u2019s estate is not \u201cfair.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe not, but here is a spoiler alert: no one cares.<\/span><\/p>\n

Places Where a \u201cFair\u201d Will Doesn\u2019t Matter\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Judges and the Appraisal District\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The <\/span>probate judge<\/span><\/a> certainly doesn\u2019t care. The judge deals in the law. If your dad left a valid will naming the new wife as his primary beneficiary, then that\u2019s how it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

The appraisal district, which stated on its website that your dad\u2019s home was in his name, certainly does not care. It follows only what is in the deed records. It does not interpret, it does not decide the legality of filed documents, and it darn sure does not deal with abstract concepts like \u201cfair.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Department of Motor Vehicles<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Department of Motor Vehicles does not deal in fairness: it deals in titles. Your dad may have promised you the Ferrari, but, hey, he never changed the title into your name. The Ferrari is part of your dad\u2019s estate and goes according to his will.<\/span><\/p>\n

Life Insurance Companies<\/span><\/h3>\n

Do you know who else does not care? The business world. To them, it is all a matter of contract.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That is why the life insurance company does not care about fairness. It relies on beneficiary forms. If your dad signed off on an insurance form naming his new wife as his beneficiary, then that is a done deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Banks<\/span><\/h3>\n

The bank does not care. If your dad and his new wife set up their accounts as \u201c<\/span>joint with right of survivorship<\/span><\/a>,\u201d then the new wife, as the survivor, gets the bank account. If he kept his accounts in his name and just named her as the beneficiary, then the new wife gets it. If he did not do either, then the account goes through his probate estate, which is controlled by his will. The wife still gets it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investment Companies<\/span><\/h3>\n

The investment company does not care. The same analysis used for bank accounts holds true for investment funds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Get Help with Estate Planning with Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/span><\/h2>\n

You can try whining that you are your dad’s only child and therefore should be his heir, but guess what? Your dad left a valid will that disposed of his entire estate, and that trumps the heirship laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensure that your will is \u201cfair\u201d with the help of our experienced <\/span>lawyers<\/span><\/a> at Hammerle Morris Law Firm. Contact us today to <\/span>schedule a consultation<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And remember: \u201cfair\u201d in probate court is a 4-letter word. Don\u2019t even bother arguing it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia Hammerle is an accredited estate planner and represents clients in estate planning, probate, guardianship, and contested litigation. She may be reached at <\/span><\/i>legaltalktexas@hammerle.com<\/span><\/i><\/a>. This blog contains general information only and does not constitute legal advice.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suppose your mom and dad are married for 40 years, and then your mom dies. She leaves a will naming your dad as her primary beneficiary, with you as the contingent beneficiary in the event your dad died before she did. Your dad survives her, so you get nothing. That\u2019s ok, you think. You\u2019ve seen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1224],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12946","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-estate-planning"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Myth of Fair | Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the complexities of estate planning and learn why fairness doesn't influence probate court decisions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/the-myth-of-fair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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