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The Daily Insight

Does will override marriage?

Author

James Williams

Published Feb 09, 2026

Under California law, a marriage automatically invalidates any pre-existing will or trust as to the new spouse’s inheritance rights, unless the documents provide for a new spouse, or clearly indicate a new spouse will receive nothing.

Can my husband cut me out of his will?

Yes, but steps can often be taken to effectively get around the Will. When your spouse signs a Will leaving you out, the Will itself is not automatically invalid. We often see a husband leave his second wife out of his Will and instead leave everything to husband’s adult children from a prior marriage.

Does my spouse inherit everything when I die?

When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse automatically receives complete ownership of the property. It is true that if all your property is jointly owned, the survivor will obtain everything by operation of law and without the necessity of probate proceedings.

Is the wife bound to her husband as long as she is alive?

A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes (only someone in the Lord). A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; but if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whomever she desires, only in the Lord.

What happens to a woman if her husband dies?

But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.

Can a woman marry another man if her husband is still alive?

So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress, even if she marries another man.

When is a woman loosed from the law of her husband?

For the woman which has an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband.