Elizabeth Edwards' will omits John Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards, before her death from cancer, pulled off a maneuver even Sandra Bullock might be impressed by: In her final days, the political wife left estranged husband John Edwards out of her will.

"All of my furniture, furnishings, household goods, jewelry, china, silverware and personal effects and any automobiles owned by me at the time of my death, I give and bequeath to my children," states the will, which Elizabeth Edwards signed six days before her Dec. 7 death from metastasized breast cancer. The will was filed Dec. 22, said the Charlotte (N.C.) News & Observer.

Cate Edwards, the oldest of the political couple's three children together, was named executor of the estate. Cate, a lawyer like her parents, is 28; Emma Claire is 12 and Jack is 10. John also has a child out of wedlock with campaign aide Rielle Hunter, the product of an affair that ultimately resulted in the Edwardses' separation early in 2010 after 32 years of marriage.

Bullock famously responded to her husband Jesse James' infidelity by emerging from scandal-induced seclusion in ninja style, with a Texas-fast divorce and an almost-done-deal adoption of a baby, Louis -- announced decisively on the cover of People magazine.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Top photo: Cate Edwards, left, with her parents Elizabeth and John, and the two younger Edwards children, campaigning in Boston on July 17, 2007. Credit: Mario Tama / Getty Images

Bottom photo: Cate Edwards, 28, speaks during her mother's funeral services in Raleigh, N.C., on Dec. 11, 2010. Credit: Robert Willett / Getty Images

 

Comments

[l]

why is this such a shock to everyone

[panchito]

IF ONLY more women were as smart , classy, and sassy as this Lady.........
May she RIP.
Won't even comment on what should happen to him.

[Natasha B]

Although Elizabeth Edwards has expressed her dying wishes, it is unlikely this will hold up in probate court. John Edwards is still her spouse, though estranged, and by the laws of most states he will be able to receive spousal support and most states also do not allow an heir at law to be "disinherited" by a will. If she wanted him completely out of the will, she should have formally divorced him.

Also, the quote from the will does not state anything about any accounts Elizabeth may have had and who the beneficiary of those accounts are, such as checking, savings, CODs, etc. as well as who the beneficiary is of any life insurance she may have had. John could very well receive the funds from those accounts or policies.

It'll be interesting to see the results of this IF the will is probated and goes public. Maybe John Edwards will do something respectful in his life and leave the estate alone to go to the kids entirely. Only time will tell.

[gtoya1331]

Yah...who cares

[Julia Herrera]

Mr. Edwards & his wife were legally separated and while some states deem community property rights after 10 yrs of marriage to be 50/50, North Carolina may have laws that differ due to the issue of "grounds". John Edwards committed a breach of the marriage contract which equals "grounds".
Elizabeth Edwards was a quietly powerful person and I'm sure when it came to her children she took every precaution to prevent a legal issue between her kids and her husband.

[Julio Childers]

What an arrogant and bitter woman? It shows how much she knew and cared for her husband. She should have accepted this reality because death was near and this would have been a way of providing a lookout for John Edwards. In many cultures, dying wives pick the new woman and entrusts the man to her and her children.

But no her arrogant selfish acts demonstrated she was not a nice person.

[Delia]

How selfish of Elizabeth Edwards to only consider her children and not the man who fathered an illegitimate child with his lover. Julio Childers, Shame on You! Other cultures also allow sex with children but we don't follow that, do we? Julio, you shouldn't even be permitted to post. You are not a smart person.

[Rowe Rowe Lewis]

Delia, you are so right! She is not a smart person!! That's probably what happened to her and that is how she handled it!

[katherine a montana]

Julio Childers, you are so unbelievable, its scary.
"Her arrogant selfish acts demonstrated she is not a nice person"? Your attitude defies even the most basic common sense. You have got to be attempting to stir things up, to see if anyone out here is awake. You cannot be serious.

[BillC242]

It was sad to see Elizabeth die. I'm certain John would be able to scrape by without any of her assets. Unfortunately, I am also certain that if he were to contest the will he'd prevail. Georgia is the only state that doesn't have a forced distribution of assets to the surviving spouse. Since Elizabeth chose to not divorce John, he was still her spouse when she died.

[April]

Technically what she did would not be considered a disinheritance under NC law. That's a Minor loophole not many people know about. Asnlong as she simply doesn't refer to him, the will can stand up in court. If she indicated in the will that she wanted him to get nothing, then THAT would legally be considered a disinheritance. THAT would not stand up in court. But either way I doubt he would contest it. As someone said he will still get things they owned jointly.