What is the name of your state? NJ
My uncle, who lived in WA, died this summer. He had no children but a second wife. Much to my surprise, I received a check for $5,000 from his estate a few weeks ago. He had left outright $5K cash bequests to all his siblings upon his death -- since my father (his brother) is dead, and I'm an only child, I got his full share.
The accountant who sent the check included a copy of the amendment to his will that was done in May before he died. I noticed my name on one of the pages, but there was a page missing. I couldn't figure out why my name was mentioned but I didn't see the names of the children of my uncle's other deceased sibling. So I asked the accountant for the missing page.
I received it today. What it says is the siblings each get $5K, that two of the siblings are dead so their issue gets their shares. (No mention of names of the "issue")
However, in another paragraph, there is a $5K gift to my name specifically. Technically, it looks like I should have gotten my father's share, plus another $5K designated specifically to me.
I called the accountant. She said she was there with his lawyer when the amendment was drafted, and that was not my uncle's intention. He wanted to treat everyone equally. I asked why he mentioned my name specifically and not my other cousins. She said he remembered my name but couldn't remember theirs. Then why wasn't there a paragraph for them, even if he didn't remember their names?
I don't want to sound greedy because I really never expected anything....however, I am suspicious because they left out that key page when they sent me the amendment. I also thought perhaps my uncle gave me a bit extra because I was one of the only cousins who kept in touch w/him, so it's not that far-fetched an idea. She can tell me what his intentions were, but how do I know her interpretation is correct?
Any suggestions?
My uncle, who lived in WA, died this summer. He had no children but a second wife. Much to my surprise, I received a check for $5,000 from his estate a few weeks ago. He had left outright $5K cash bequests to all his siblings upon his death -- since my father (his brother) is dead, and I'm an only child, I got his full share.
The accountant who sent the check included a copy of the amendment to his will that was done in May before he died. I noticed my name on one of the pages, but there was a page missing. I couldn't figure out why my name was mentioned but I didn't see the names of the children of my uncle's other deceased sibling. So I asked the accountant for the missing page.
I received it today. What it says is the siblings each get $5K, that two of the siblings are dead so their issue gets their shares. (No mention of names of the "issue")
However, in another paragraph, there is a $5K gift to my name specifically. Technically, it looks like I should have gotten my father's share, plus another $5K designated specifically to me.
I called the accountant. She said she was there with his lawyer when the amendment was drafted, and that was not my uncle's intention. He wanted to treat everyone equally. I asked why he mentioned my name specifically and not my other cousins. She said he remembered my name but couldn't remember theirs. Then why wasn't there a paragraph for them, even if he didn't remember their names?
I don't want to sound greedy because I really never expected anything....however, I am suspicious because they left out that key page when they sent me the amendment. I also thought perhaps my uncle gave me a bit extra because I was one of the only cousins who kept in touch w/him, so it's not that far-fetched an idea. She can tell me what his intentions were, but how do I know her interpretation is correct?
Any suggestions?
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