What is the name of your state? WEST VIRGINIA
Here's the scenario:
My father passed away in WV in February 2005. I live in SC. He also has surviving, a 2nd wife and 3 stepchildren. I'm the only child and also the only one from his first marriage. It's almost 2 months since his death and no step family members will produce a will for me. I also contacted the probate court and the bank that is supposedly the executor, and no will has been filed within 30 days, and the bank has no will either. My father was very meticulous about paperwork and I know he had to have left a will.
I've inquired as to the will's whereabouts from a step-sibling, and have been met with quite a barrage of hostility. He says the will is in a safety deposit box and his mother gets everything for now, but if she dies, we all split afterwards. This poses quite a number of questions:
1) Can my father's surviving spouse and stepfamily deny the release of the will to the court, the bank (if actually the executor) and to myself as the only actual surviving child of my father's?
2) What is the statute of limitations for bringing a will up?
3) Can a person write a will to state that everything goes to a spouse, but later on, when that spouse dies, everyone else gets to split what remains? That sounds as if you could write 2 persons' will into one...and what if the surviving spouse makes their OWN will after the first death, can that will supercede my father's original wishes in the will?
4) If in fact, the stepmother gets everything at first, can she give "gifts" to her own children and deplete the remaining estate legally that way?
5) I know that if no will is produced in court, I can go personally to the county court and file to be the executor. What if the will shows up then or what if it doesn't? And how long do I have to take this action?
Please advise.
Here's the scenario:
My father passed away in WV in February 2005. I live in SC. He also has surviving, a 2nd wife and 3 stepchildren. I'm the only child and also the only one from his first marriage. It's almost 2 months since his death and no step family members will produce a will for me. I also contacted the probate court and the bank that is supposedly the executor, and no will has been filed within 30 days, and the bank has no will either. My father was very meticulous about paperwork and I know he had to have left a will.
I've inquired as to the will's whereabouts from a step-sibling, and have been met with quite a barrage of hostility. He says the will is in a safety deposit box and his mother gets everything for now, but if she dies, we all split afterwards. This poses quite a number of questions:
1) Can my father's surviving spouse and stepfamily deny the release of the will to the court, the bank (if actually the executor) and to myself as the only actual surviving child of my father's?
2) What is the statute of limitations for bringing a will up?
3) Can a person write a will to state that everything goes to a spouse, but later on, when that spouse dies, everyone else gets to split what remains? That sounds as if you could write 2 persons' will into one...and what if the surviving spouse makes their OWN will after the first death, can that will supercede my father's original wishes in the will?
4) If in fact, the stepmother gets everything at first, can she give "gifts" to her own children and deplete the remaining estate legally that way?
5) I know that if no will is produced in court, I can go personally to the county court and file to be the executor. What if the will shows up then or what if it doesn't? And how long do I have to take this action?
Please advise.
Last edited: