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C

cat22eow

Guest
I live in NY. My grandfather lived in CA. He took me with him and put my name on his bank account and told me that when he died he wanted me to have what was left in that account.

Seven years later in 1997 he died. I was not informed until 2 weeks after his death and I was never given the opportunity to come to the funeral.

In 2001 I found out from one of my sisters that she received a notice for the reading of the will (she had never thought to tell me before?). I think that my Uncle might have stolen all of the estate. He disappeared shortly after my grandfathers death.

I don't have the name of the lawyer. I there any way to get a copy of the will or find out what happened? I have no idea where to start.

Please help!!!
 


A

advisor10

Guest
AUG. 27, 2001

DEAR CAT22EOW:

From the description you have given, it seems as if you are the person who was legally supposed to get the money in this account. However, it is possible that either the bank or the uncle did not know how to reach you if they didn't know your address or phone number.

Have you already checked with the bank to see what the status of the account is? I somehow feel that you are correct in assuming that this uncle already has gotten this money. You really do need to contact the bank first to find out for sure whether the account is still open or not.

If you know the city/state where your grandfather died, then you can visit (or contact by mail or phone) the probate court of the county courthouse (for that city) to look at the probate file to see exactly how much money was in your grandfather's estate and whether the bank account was listed. If you can't visit the courthouse in person, you can order copies of every document in the probate file to get an overview of how the estate was handled. If you don't know how to find the address of the county courthouse, send me an e-mail message and I can find it for you.

You will also need to ask the clerk at the courthouse whether it is a legal requirement that executors be bonded in California. If the answer is yes, then you can file a claim with the bonding insurance company to recover your share of the monies if you can prove that they were stolen by someone else (if your uncle was the executor).

You will eventually have to contact this uncle to ask him about this money (if you have proof that he took it), and if he doesn't respond, then you may need to get an attorney's assistance to file a claim against him in small claims or some other court, depending on the amount of money involved. If you don't know the uncle's whereabouts now, a private investigator in any state can help you locate him for about $75-$100.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]
 

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