(CNN) -- Elizabeth Edwards left everything to her children, with no mention of her estranged husband, John Edwards, in her will.
"All of my furniture, furnishings, household goods, jewelry, china, silverware and personal effects and any automobiles ... to be divided among them ..." Edwards says in the document dated December 1.
It names her daughter, 28-year-old Catharine, as the executor of the will.
Elizabeth Edwards died on December 7 after a battle with breast cancer. She was 61
via edition.cnn.com
This story makes a nice soundbite for people rightly disgusted with John Edwards' behavior; but the story fails to address many things.
1. Was the divorce final? Can John claim a spousal share of her assets under North Carolina state law?
2. The rest and residue of her estate, after passing out all tangible personal property to her kids, pours over to a revocable trust. This trust is not part of the public record and could leave a nominal amount to John or even a Marital Bequest (usually the excess value of the estate above the applicable federal estate tax exemption).
3. Did they continue to own homes or large portions of property as joint tenants with rights of survivorship? These properties would be distributed by operation of law and not by the terms of the will.
The fact that the Will was redone about six months ago and mentions the trust was amended and restated makes me think that the trust was probably amended at that time as well (why wouldn't it be?). But I still have to question lazy journalism that paints an emotionally charged picture.