• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Quitclaim vs. Will

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

brokenheartd

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida
My mother passed away in November 2007 leaving a will and funeral directives. It was the understanding that our brother would receive her home in exchange for paying all funeral expenses, because he had helped with the maintenance of her home over the years. Our mother had also listed items to be given to the other 5 siblings. Only one day after she was admitted to Hospice, this brother denied access to our mother's home. She died two days later, and he refused contact with us inquiring about her funeral arrangements and payments, and then sent his wife to the funeral home to pay only $1800.00 toward her funeral and stated that was all he would pay. He boxed up all items to be distributed to the other siblings -except for some things he said were not there - and advised us to pick them up, under the supervision of his son, at our mother's home between Christmas and New Years, or he was going to throw them in a dumpster. When we finally contacted him to ask for reimbursment for the expenses, he threatened our lifes and the lifes of our families, stating he did not owe anything to us or our mother.
He has not filed the Will in probate and I was just advised by official records that our brother had our mother sign a quitclaim in 2003, and filed it two days before she died. Does the quitclaim override the will? Does this mean my siblings and I cannot recoup the monies we paid for our mother's funeral or even have the right to question the whereabouts of the missing items? It's as if he was setting up our mother and us, just bideing his time, waiting for her to die so he could claim her home without any obligations to her. We are so hurt. Is there anything we can do?
 


divgradcurl

Senior Member
You might want to talk with an attorney, depending on how much value we are talking about.

But in general, yes, a quitclaim "trumps" the will. A will can only give away stuff that is in the estate when the testator dies, so if she gave away the property before she died, the property is not part of the estate. Any "understandings" that are not in the will are uneforceable.

Has probate been opened? If not, seek to have probate opened.

Finally, if you suspect that your brother wrongly influenced your mother while she was ill, talk with an attorney to see if there is any indication of elder abuse or other influence that could change things.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top