Davey Jones 'Pretermitted' Spouse

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - What happens if someone has written a will and THEN gets married but doesn't change his will before he dies?

For those of us who love Davey Jones from the days we'd kiss our three channel picture tube televisions, we are heartbroken to learn that the legal system may make a monkey out of him - or those left to administer his estate.

Jones had written a will two years before he married his now 33-year-old widow and never changed it after his marriage. The estate has now filed to seal the records so the public can't see what will likely be a less than Pleasant Valley Sunday in legal town.

Unless there is a prenuptial agreement that prevents a spouse from making a claim against the will, most states treat what is called pretermitted spouses, those married after a will is written and not revised, as if her spouse had died without a will. That means that Jones' widow would have the right to make a claim against the will for what the law says a spouse is automatically entitled to, in most states between a half and a third of the total property.

If you'd gotten a will and now have gotten a spouse, do not be too busy singing to put anybody down on your will.