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how long does it take

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npotts

Guest
What is the name of your state? va my grandmother inlaw promised my husband & i 1/2 of her house to move in a take care of her. my husbands father (her son) already had !/ 2 of the house from his father. when she died her executer & him were over heard saying they would burn anything with her signature on it.he got the house kicked us out now trying to refinance it he has a drinking problem and no money she also had money put away in a safe deposit box because she had no insurance i know this because i would drive her there to put it in well they say there was no money.there was a cd for 50,000 which was left to my son after expenses. it has been 10 months now they say they are waiting for accountants to look at it she never owed any one not even a credit card plus they say a trustee has been appointed for the money well my question is can my husband and i use this money to buy a home in our sons name? he is 7yrs old and how long can they stall this ? will a trustee allow this since we gave up our home 4 yrs ago to take care of her now my son doesn't have a home?
 


lwpat

Senior Member
"grandmother inlaw promised"

Promises are just that, promises. Unless you have a legally binding document you have and will get nothing.

"my question is can my husband and i use this money to buy a home in our sons name"

There is no money until it is actually distributed. Based on your post I doubt that there will ever be any money.

You need to go to the probate court and get a copy of your "gradmother inlaw's" file, if one exists, and then contact a local estate attorney for assistance.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Was there a will officially probated that mentions her intention to leave half of the house to your husband? You need to check at the county courthouse to get a copy of the will, if there was one.

How did you find out about the CD? Do you know the bank where it is held? You need to get specific information about this from the trustee or executor. Exactly whose name appears as beneficiary on the CD--your son's name or the estate of the grandmother-in-law's name? If your son is not listed as the beneficiary, then the trustee or executor might put this money into the estate and there is no guarantee he will get it unless you attend one of the court hearings to find out what is going on or get your own attorney to get information for you.

The comment about "waiting for accountants to look at it" is either an outright lie or deliberately designed to mislead you and throw you off guard and is a stalling tactic not to tell you anything. It doesn't take 10 months to determine whether a CD can be cashed in now or not--they can tell you that in one hour. Maybe they meant to say that the trust paperwork is still being processed, which would be somewhat believable, but 10 months seems to be an unreasonable length of time even for that.

You don't even know exactly what you are going to receive from the estate or the trust. You need to consult with a local trust attorney to find out whether you have the right as a potential beneficiary (on behalf of your son, that is) to send the trustee a certified letter asking for a copy of the trust and the accounting statements showing its financial value. Ask the trustee if your son is named as a beneficiary in the will and in the trust--if yes, then ask for an estimate of when he thinks the trust will be issuing the check.

You need to examine the trust to see whether or not there are any stipulated conditions on how the $50,000 is to be used--for example if it says the money is to be used for his college education, then you can not spend it for any other reason without getting in trouble and you should put that money in a trust account in the trust department of a bank and leave it there until he becomes an adult and give it to him then. It's NOT YOUR MONEY, IT'S HIS. After you get it, you don't need the trustee's permission for anything.

Your excuse for wanting to use this money to get a home is not justifiable, since you can afford, if working to rent a home or buy a home with YOUR income, not your son's, although I do agree that you do deserve some consideration for helping take care of your grandmother-in-law, but it was HER responsibility to make sure she left you something officially in writing, and I hope you do eventually get access to the CD on behalf of your son and hopefully the trustee or executor has not found a way to steal it so that you don't get anything.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

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