My stepmom is up to something

[happy67]

What is the name of your state? AR
My father passed away about a month ago, and supposedly he had his affairs in order. He had a will (which my stepmom is trying to say is not valid), he had established a trust, and he also had a life insurance policy. My sister, who is an attorney in another state(but she is also allowed to practice in AR), has offered to help with some of the things that need to be taken care of in order to save my SM some money, and my SM refused her help. When another sister asked her if she had started the process of settling the estate, SM became very nervous and started trying to convince her that my Dad had basically no assets, and he died penniless. This is obviously not true, as he had many acres of land, boats, cars, ( all paid for in full) and a large holding in a company. She is trying to say that all of his preparations aren't valid, and so the estate needs to go through probate. I have a sneaky suspicion that he didn't leave her what she wanted, and is hoping that by going through probate as though none of the documents are valid, she will come out better in the end. The bottom line is that we ( his kids) want to see my father's wishes carried out,even if he left everything to a charity or whatever. but she is making it very difficult to find out exactly what he wanted. Is there a time limit in Ar to file a will? If it goes to probate, then how will his estate be divided?
This is so confusing.

 

[msiron]

Shes' a sneaky one. Probably trashed the paperwork, or will never produce it because it's not in her favor and found that going by state intestate laws she will make out better. The attorney your father used should have copies of everything so IF you know who it is, start there.

 

[mytwogirls]

Sounds like you are going through what my siblings and I are currently going through with our SM. PLEASE hire an Attorney and a good one too. Never under estimate a step-parent. Our SM told us that every thing went to her, when in fact it didn't and she tried to hide it. Good Luck

 

[Dandy Don]

You need to be asking her if the children were named as beneficiaries in the trust, and who the trustee is. You can get probate started yourself if there are any assets that were not put into the trust, but first find out if you are entitled to a copy of the trust.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[lwpat]

The estate might need to go through probate but that depends on whether he trust holds title to the property. You should be albe to locate the attorney that did the will and trust. Hire him to start the probate process.