Family member passed away, what to expect?

[PhL0aTeR]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CO

well, my family member has been sick for a while and passed away earlier this month. She has 2 executors, both family, one i dont get a long with. I asked them to keep me in the loop with everything but they have fallen quite short. The last time i asked about it she referred me to an attorney, which i called and left a message with last wednesday but she hasnt gotten back to me.

She had quite a bit of assets, we were very close and we discussed her will on numerous occasions and the gist of which was her 2 daughters get a set amount and I get everything else, including the house and quite a bit of land.

What can i expect here? Nobody i know has been in a situation that compares, and only one person has inherited something, and she said it took the lawyers 3 years to get through everything.

Also i was informed that the locks in the house have been changed to protect the estate, but i have quite a bit of stuff in there, especially the garage.... things ill need in the next month or so.... will i have to wait till everything is done or is there a way i can go get the stuff thats mine?

 

[justalayman]

it sounds like you need to get your own attorney to start with. The executor can allow you in to retrieve your property but if the executor does not know what is your property or believe you, they have the legal right to refuse to allow anything to leave until a court decides what belonged to whom.

as far as probate; probate files are public record so you can go to the court that deals with probate in the county probate was filed (should have been the county of his residence) and get a copy of the file. That will give you a start as to what is supposed to go where.


you also need to realize that a person cannot give something they do not actually have. Debts have to be paid from an estate first before it is known if there are any assets. Then those assets can be distributed.

 

[PhL0aTeR]

well it does look like i need my own attorney. the lawyer responded to my email and said i didnt get a call back because im not a beneficiary.... it comes as a surprise because i was always told that i was getting quite a bit, she didnt have any debt to pay, so everything was assets.

 

[PhL0aTeR]

well, i received a copy of the will in the mail today and she had a trust, after reading the will, i remember she said something about a trust being something that didnt get caught up with courts and legal fees and whatnot.

so how do i go about seeing what the trust says?

 

[justalayman]

unless you are either the trustee or a beneficiary of the trust, it is none of your business and cannot demand to see anything concerning the ttrust.

 

[PhL0aTeR]

unless you are either the trustee or a beneficiary of the trust, it is none of your business and cannot demand to see anything concerning the ttrust.

i understand that, i guess i should have worded this differently....

the lawyer said i was not a beneficiary of the "estate" and when i read the will, im not mentioned anywhere in there, but neither is all the assets she told me she was leaving to me. The only thing the will mentions is the contents of the house and the car, it does not mention the investments, house or the land.

I know the purpose of a trust that its not public record, If i am listed in the trust as a beneficiary, is it my responsibility to find out if im listed or will someone contact me? right now im just sitting around waiting for something to happen, i emailed the lawyer that told me i wasnt a beneficiary about the stuff i have in the house, she responded and told me that by 5pm tonight all my stuff will be in the garage, and things that "they" werent sure were mine or hers will be in there and to leave what isnt mine, and take whats mine, that the garage will be unlocked.

So i guess my main question is, whats the scenario outcome of there being a trust? who is in charge of it? is it the same people as the executors of the will? If im listed in the trust, what should my plan of action be?