Elderly landlady may have signed herself out of a will? This possible? Legal?moral?

[Padibona]

What is the name of your state? MN

Hi I'm speaking for my elderly landlady who may have been taken out of her long-time friends will. I'm really not sure whats going on but she has ben living with a male friend of hers that was quite wealthy. He recently died, and his will was read about 3-4 days after the funeral. Now I knew this man and knew him to be an honest and generous person and also have seen a letter of some sort stating that my landlady would receive xx dollars a month if she outlive him etc and when she dies the remaining amount will be put into his granddaughter's name. This apparently come from some trust account, I don't know the specifics. Now here's the part I just found out about...I assumed that she'd be put into the will and taken care of. He had stated that she would be taken care of when he died etc. Now one day after the funeral his son(executor I assume?) stopped by and had her sign something....she didnt know what it was and she said he was in a hurry, so she signed it like an honest old lady. 2 days later the "will" was read and she wasnt in it. As soon as I found this out I was like WHAT? this sounds very fishy to me and the fact that she didnt get a copy of it is even more fishy. He said she'd get a big fat envelope in the mail or something...It's only been a couple weeks since his death and she doesnt wanna pry too much but I find it very hard to believe that she was not put in there at all. What do you suggest she do?

 

[CALIF-PRO36]

What is the name of your state? MN

Hi I'm speaking for my elderly landlady who may have been taken out of her long-time friends will. I'm really not sure whats going on but she has ben living with a male friend of hers that was quite wealthy. He recently died, and his will was read about 3-4 days after the funeral. Now I knew this man and knew him to be an honest and generous person and also have seen a letter of some sort stating that my landlady would receive xx dollars a month if she outlive him etc and when she dies the remaining amount will be put into his granddaughter's name. This apparently come from some trust account, I don't know the specifics. Now here's the part I just found out about...I assumed that she'd be put into the will and taken care of. He had stated that she would be taken care of when he died etc. Now one day after the funeral his son(executor I assume?) stopped by and had her sign something....she didnt know what it was and she said he was in a hurry, so she signed it like an honest old lady. 2 days later the "will" was read and she wasnt in it. As soon as I found this out I was like WHAT? this sounds very fishy to me and the fact that she didnt get a copy of it is even more fishy. He said she'd get a big fat envelope in the mail or something...It's only been a couple weeks since his death and she doesnt wanna pry too much but I find it very hard to believe that she was not put in there at all. What do you suggest she do?

My response:

I don't know! How about banging on the son's door, and demanding oodles of money?

What do you want? You don't even know the whole story, and you expect us to help by guessing?

Geez!

IAAL

 

[Padibona]

ok lemme rephrase

Ok lemme ask some better question to maybe not get a smartass answer.
What could the son have brought over for her to sign?
If this was some sort of document stating she would receive nothing shouldnt this be signed in the prescence of a notary etc or is that legally binding?
What is the typical procedure for taking care of all a persons assets per their will when they die?
Is it possible to alter a will after a person has died?

 

[wdlsguy]

she didnt know what it was and she said he was in a hurry, so she signed it like an honest old lady.

She shouldn't have done that.

2 days later the "will" was read and she wasnt in it.

Did he have a living trust? If so, maybe she is named as a beneficiary?

What do you suggest she do?

Maybe she should call the son and find out what she signed?

I am not a lawyer.

 

[Padibona]

thanks

Ya I know she shouldnt have done that lol but not a whole lot I can do about it.
Well she does have a piece of paper from some attorney stating she would receive xxx amount per month etc and it said something about a trust...living trust? i dunno
Ya well she's called the son and hasnt gotten a return call yet I guess. I'll tell her to try again.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

and maybe no one with a LEGAL education and scrupples should hazzard a GUESS as to what MAY or MAY not have been contained in a document neither the poster or anyone here can read????

 

[Padibona]

Just tryin to help an old lady just seems kinda weird for someone to have to sign something 2 days before a will was read, like I said I dont know the typical procedure of these kinds of things and would be nice to have a serious type of answer. Thanks

 

[pojo2]

You have no idea what is going on yet, this "It's only been a couple weeks since his death" and you are panicking.

Good grief if this was a wealthy individual then it could potentially take YEARS to settle everything or at minimum several months depending on how things were set up.

And you want us to tell you if everything is going as it should how the heck would ANYONE, possibly including the executor, know what is going on this soon! Sheesh!

 

[Dandy Don]

She needs her own attorney to contact the brother/executor on her behalf to see if she is named as beneficiary in a will OR in a trust. Since the estate is in the process of being handled now, and the trust as well, it's only a matter of time before she finds out if she will be getting anything.

 

[Padibona]

Ah ok thank you I was not familiar with how long or the process of executing a will etc. Thanks for the help!