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A lawyer & a missing Will

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What is the name of your state?Georgia

My grandmother had a Will drawn up in the 80's having everything divided to her 6 children and split equally. She died a year ago and her sealed copy is mysteriously disappeared from her house and my uncle (1 of her 6 children) has filed a bogus Will leaving him everything and the other 5 nothing. My grandmother was dealing with Alzheimer's at the time of him drawing up this Will.

My problem is that the lawyer who was paid in the 80's to have a sealed copy in her possession as well, does not seem to want to give the time of day to locate the Will. She has moved her office and says it could be anywhere. Isn't it her duty to make sure that the Will is at least given to the court or one of the children asking for it.
 


Dandy Don

Senior Member
Start talking to a probate attorney immediately to discuss your options. You will probably be able to successfully contest this will on the grounds of undue influence (grandma was probably under medication that rendered her unable to competently decide whether or not she wanted to sign this will).

If you can prove (by showing grandma's medical records or other documentation) that she was under medication, then you are well on the way to getting this will thrown out.

In fairness to the original attorney who drafted the will, it is unlikely that the original would be in the attorney's office and since so much time has passed she might not even have a copy of the document on file, and the court could not accept a copy, but this attorney's testimony will be valuable in being able to testify that another will had been previously written.

What is the estimated value of this estate? If you can afford to pay an upfront retainer of a few thousand dollars to get an attorney to represent you, it would be well worth it, as you have a winnable case.

Do you have any idea of who she could have used as witnesses (friends or relatives) when she signed the original will? Are the witnesses who signed the newer will friends or relatives of hers, and how many witnesses signed the newer will?


DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

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