Probate ? for Pa. (Bucks County)

[meameame12]

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

Hello, my mothers's husband's father past away in August 2013. He had 3 wills drafted, and he made his wife, who loathes her step-son (my mom's husband), executor for the will. I am not sure which will is relevant.

here is the problem--she is JOINT on the will and refuses to reveal ANY contents of it. She will not give my mom's boyfriend any information, hangs up when he calls, etc.

In any case, the father past away in Newtown, Pa. I called the Wills (?) office for Bucks County, and they told me 2 things:

a) the executor has to file within 6 months from the date of death--they can have an optional 9 mth extension. but taxes must be filed

b) if the person is JOINT, as is our case, then the executor NEVER has to file the will

So...I called an attorney, who said he would file paperwork which basically will force the person to reveal the contents of the will--but he wants $2000!

So...as you can tell by my post, I know next to nothing about how wills work, and I am trying to help my mother (who is on SSI) and her husband.

Please advise what I should do. I ideally would like a lawyer to help us---but not for $2000 -- just to reveal the contents!?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

A valid will disclaims all previous wills as a matter of form. If she refuses to open probate, someone else should.

 

[anteater]

she is JOINT on the will

What do you mean by this?

a) the executor has to file within 6 months from the date of death--they can have an optional 9 mth extension. but taxes must be filed

Not really certain what the Register of Wills personnel are referring to. There is no time limit for offering a will for probate. The PA Inheritance Tax return is due 9 months after the date of death if penalties and interest are to be avoided.

b) if the person is JOINT, as is our case, then the executor NEVER has to file the will

A person is not "joint." Assets can be owned jointly. And, if the assets are owned jointly with right of survivorship, such assets are not subject to probate and the provisions of a will. If all the deceased's assets are owned jointly with right of survivorship, then there would not be a need to submit the will and open probate. Many married couples own their assets jointly.

Your Mother's husband has two options:
1) Pay an attorney
2) Spend the time to research how to request that the Register of Wills compel production of the will

Either may be a waste of time and/or money if there are no assets that are subject to probate.

§ 3137. Enforcing production of will.
The register, at the request of any party in interest, shall issue a citation directed to any person alleged to have possession or control of a will of a decedent requiring him to show cause why it should not be deposited with him. In the absence of good cause shown, the register shall order the will to be deposited with him.

 

[meameame12]

What do you mean by this?


Not really certain what the Register of Wills personnel are referring to. There is no time limit for offering a will for probate. The PA Inheritance Tax return is due 9 months after the date of death if penalties and interest are to be avoided.


A person is not "joint." Assets can be owned jointly. And, if the assets are owned jointly with right of survivorship, such assets are not subject to probate and the provisions of a will. If all the deceased's assets are owned jointly with right of survivorship, then there would not be a need to submit the will and open probate. Many married couples own their assets jointly.

Your Mother's husband has two options:
1) Pay an attorney
2) Spend the time to research how to request that the Register of Wills compel production of the will

Either may be a waste of time and/or money if there are no assets that are subject to probate.

Thanks for responding to my post. We do know that my mother's husband specifically has items / stocks willed to him. So that asset belongs to him. However--we cannot get the contents of the will. The way we know this is that she called my mom's husband, told him some of the contents, they got into a fight, she hung up the phone, and refuses to answer it. That is the problem.

This is a wicked family fight--and only she has access to the will. So...we are concerned that his dad's assets that were willed to his son will never be discovered.

We are willing to pay an attorney, but I consider $2000 excessive. If there is a low cost attorney willing to file the paperwork, then we are most definitely interested.

And...if the will has assets, how do we "force" her to hand it over?

 

[anteater]

And...if the will has assets, how do we "force" her to hand it over?

The way that you phrase things is odd. A will does not "have assets." A will is simply a piece of paper that contains, among other things, a person's instructions for the distribution of that person's remaining assets when that person passes away.

$2,000 is not necessarily excessive, particularly since it appears that there is going to be a fight. If your mother's husband does retain an attorney, he should obtain an explanation of what that attorney will be doing and what the fee covers.

 

[meameame12]

The way that you phrase things is odd. A will does not "have assets." A will is simply a piece of paper that contains, among other things, a person's instructions for the distribution of that person's remaining assets when that person passes away.

$2,000 is not necessarily excessive, particularly since it appears that there is going to be a fight. If your mother's husband does retain an attorney, he should obtain an explanation of what that attorney will be doing and what the fee covers.

Thanks for clarification.

The $2000 would cover the letter, provided to a judge, in asking to reveal the contents of the will.

That is step 1.

Step 2 is to see how he can attain those assets.