My mother passed in 1987 and my mother and father had a will. My father remarried in 2006. What happens to the will?

Also be aware that what regardless of what a will says, a long lingering illness can wipe out even substantial estates. And fifty-percent of very little is very little indeed.

There are some jurisdictions - Scotland springs to mind - where marriage automatically invalidates existing wills; many more where divorce does. I of course don't know, but I wouldn't be at all surprised, if the rules vary from state to state in America; so the best first step is check what they are in yours.

It seems that your parents had what are sometimes called "mirror wills" - one leaving everything to the other. Now while it is true that your father can leave his estate to whomever he likes, do you happen to remember what the terms of your mother's will were, if you ever saw it? Because it's not impossible that they left a 'life interest' to one another with the stipulation that children or grandchildren would inherit on the decease of the second parent, which would constrain what the surviving spouse could do with the assets.

Have you talked to your father at all about this subject? On one level it's absolutely none of your business, true; but at the same time it's perfectly natural to want to know where you stand, especially if the expectations might be substantial and/or significant to your future security.

As he and his wife - and may it long continue - have been married for more than a decade I'm wondering what has made you worry about this now. Has there been a falling out, or illness, or what's happened?

It is up to your father where his assets go.

If he leaves everything to his wife, and she leaves everything to him, then whichever of them lives longer can pass the estate on to their biological children only, if they wish.

This is the situation for my second husband and me. He died first, leaving me everything (which was nothing, actually, not even a life insurance policy, because he had a very expensive illness). I am now free to leave everything to my two sons, leaving my three stepdaughters out entirely.

I'm free to, but I won't. We've always told our kids that 1) anything left would be divided 5 ways and 2) there would not be much left, so don't worry about it or count on it.

MrsAnn, what is your specific concern? Is there a large estate? Are you on poor terms with your father's wife? If Dad dies first, is she apt to cut you out of her will?

What does your dad own that isn't owned jointly with his wife already?

Your dad can do as he pleases. I know this seems awful, but it's true. He may likely leave everything to the "new" wife. Are you on good terms with dad? Just go talk to him. If there are things of your mother's that you would like, let him know. Hopefully his wife would be caring enough to not short the children of a previous union.
A person can leave their estate to anyone they like. ANYONE. And you don't have a ton of recourse if the will is made when someone is of sound mind. My FIL and MIL divorced 14 years before FIL died. MIL "thought" she was to inherit a piece of rental property, but she didn't. In fact, it was sold a few weeks after FIL's death. When she coyly inquired (A YEAR!! after dad died) about how she was to go about selling it, my hubby looked at her and said "Mother, you now are collecting 100% of dad's pension, you got to keep the house, the cars, and you gave him one old recliner and a card table when you kicked him out. The rental you signed away at the time of the divorce." She was embarrassed and angry. BUT, even though she got a lawyer involved, the will stood.
My advice--just go talk to your dad, don't sneak around behind his back.

I'd get a legal opinion. I'd inquire about old Will. If that's it, then, I'd ask about the laws in your state. Some states say that you can't legally disinherit a spouse. So, regardless of the Will, if the surviving spouse insists, they are entitled to a minimum of assets, under the law. An Estate attorney should be able to advise.

Yes

It's important to update one's Will every now and then because State laws do change. Chances are your Dad and his current wife of 11 years probably got new Wills. Or maybe your Dad will use his old Will.

Are you worried that your Dad would leave everything to his current wife? I know that is a common concern with a previous marriage where there were children born of that union.

Your mother and father would have had their own separate wills. When your mother passed, she most likely left everything to your father. Your father can keep the old will or he can change it. It will be up to him. If he did not change the will, the old will should still be in effect. This will would not include assets of the marriage to his second wife (what they earned and purchased together).