My husband died and his sister claims the $47,000 coin collection was always meant for her, not me. Do I have any options?

Take the example of Michelle, whose husband Robert passed away from a sudden illness. While still reeling from shock and grief, Michelle now has to deal with Robert’s sister, Amy, who’s trying to lay claim to Robert’s coin collection — worth about $47,000.

Amy claims the coin collection was always meant for her. But, during the entirety of their marriage, Robert never mentioned anything of the sort to Michelle.

Michelle doesn’t want to end up in a family dispute or legal battle over Robert’s coin collection, but she also feels the collection belongs to her. She helped Robert track down some of those coins, so the collection has special meaning to her.

Now she’s wondering if she has any options to avoid a family dispute.

Why you need a residuary clause

Ideally, Robert would have a valid will that specifies who gets the coin collection. It doesn’t matter if a sibling or other family member believes a certain asset was promised to them; if it’s not explicitly stated in the will, then there’s not much they can do about it.

Yet, 56% of U.S. adults have no estate planning documents, such as a will, trust or Medical power of attorney, according to Trust & Will’s 2026 Estate Planning Report.

However, even if a will exists, specific assets might not be included. Maybe Robert left the house, car and investments to his wife, but didn’t mention anything about his coin collection. That means the collection becomes part of the estate and goes through the probate process.

Oftentimes, assets not explicitly named in a will are covered by a residuary clause. This is a ‘catch-all’ clause that basically covers any assets the testator (the person who wrote the will) forgot to list. Assets could include anything from personal belongings to investments — and even coin collections.

A standard residuary clause basically states that you give the “rest, residue and remainder of your estate” to a specific person.

It’s a useful clause, since it also covers assets purchased after the will was created. Without it, the state gets to decide who gets what during the probate process, which can fuel family squabbles over inheritances.

If Michelle is named the residuary beneficiary, she inherits the coin collection, even if the collection isn’t specifically mentioned in the will.

Of course, the testator can name someone other than a spouse as the residuary beneficiary. If Robert named his sister instead of his wife, then it would be a different story.

Most professionally drafted wills contain a residuary clause. If you’re using a DIY template to create your will, make sure it includes one.

Community vs non-community property states

If Michelle lives in one of nine community property states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington or Wisconsin — then she has stronger protections.

In a community property state, any asset acquired by either spouse during the marriage is owned 50/50.

If Robert had acquired the coins during their marriage, then Michelle would automatically own 50% of the collection. So, even if Amy claims the coin collection was meant for her, she could only fight for 50% of the collection.

However, if Robert acquired the coins prior to their marriage, those coins would be considered separately owned property and this rule wouldn’t apply.

To add to the complexity, some coins may have been acquired prior to the marriage and some during the marriage — so it’s not always a cut-and-dried situation.

In most non-community property states, a surviving spouse who isn’t happy with the terms of the will can claim a spousal elective share, meaning they can reject the will’s terms and instead claim a fixed percentage of the total estate.

Generally speaking, a family member’s verbal claims won’t override spousal property laws.

What if there isn’t a residuary clause or a will?

If there isn’t a residuary clause and specific assets aren’t named in the will, then those assets fall into what’s called partial intestacy. And if there’s no will, the assets fall into intestacy.

That means, under state intestacy laws, the assets would be distributed according to a statutory hierarchy (basically, one that follows the family tree). Siblings are far down in the hierarchy, which means Amy would only inherit assets if her late brother had no surviving spouse, no surviving children and no living parents.