Step-father manipulating mother into changing will

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

My mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Disease (a form of alzheimers) about three years ago but has had symptoms of dementia for years before that. She is on her third marraige to a man who has not had a job EVER in the last 20 years since they have been married. My mother had always had a trust with all her properties in her name only and if she were to die, her third husband could live off the trust and then when he died, whatever was left was to go to my two sisters and me. Two years ago my mother told me that her husband pressured her into changing all her properties into both their names and to get rid of the trust. Now she told my sisters and I that he threatened to divorce her and sue her for everything if she didn't change the beneficiaries on her $200,000.00 life insurance property over to him (and take my sisters and I off). My mother asked my sisters and I to help her to make sure he didn't get away with this. Now he has taken my mother out of the state and isn't bringing her back for several months. In the mean time, she continues to decline mentally but he controls her every move and we believe he has brain-washed her. He refuses to let us see a copy of her will. If we wait until she dies to contest the will, there will be nothing to contest because all the property is now in both their names so will automatically go to him. Can we take action now to try to get it changed back? How can jerky, money-grubbing step-parents get away with this? He had absolutely nothing when he married my mother (yes, my mother was dumb to marry him). To make matters even worse, we HAVE seen his will and he leaves 1/2 of everything to his son and 1/6 to me and each of my sisters. All this money was my father's to begin with. Please let me know what we can do!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Talk to a family law attorney about whether it would be possible for you to acquire conservatorship of your mother or not and whether that would then put whoever acquired the conservatorship in control of her finances (it may or not be possible--it's tricky because I'm not sure if what the husband has done is legally correct or not in moving her to another location).

Do you know for sure whether or not he also has a signed power of attorney from her? Which possibly he could have used to change the beneficiary designations (which may or may not be legal in your state, depending on what your state law says about abuse of POA)?

At some point you will also need to talk to a probate attorney about the possible validity or invalidity of the will (if there are documented medical records that can prove she was mentally impaired or beginning symptoms of dementia at the same time or before the date she wrote the will, it is possible that the will could be declared automatically invalid, because a person with diminished mental capacity is considered not to be aware enough to enter into any type of legal agreement or contract, and the POA may also be invalidated on that basis and the beneficiary designations reversed if you contact the insurance company to notify them about this.

Is the will signed by witnesses (if so, how many)?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

I haven't seen the will as they refuse. But I'm sure the witnesses are two friends of his.

Normally the will is filed at the county courthouse probate court within 30-90 days after the death, so check there to see if it is has been filed. If it has, you can obtain a copy by paying for a certified copy of it and then take it to a probate attorney for evaluation to see how many things are wrong with it that you are going to successfully contest or maybe even get it thrown out WITHOUT contesting if there are enough things wrong with it.