Challenging a Will ???

[sinyclaw]

I live in NY State.
On Sat (2/14/04) I was delivered papers from my grandmother's estate informing me that a probate hearing will be held on Tue (2/17/04) in Brooklyn.

Not only was I not informed that she passed on, but I was given 3 days (no business days) notice of the probate reading.

In the will she specifically went out of her way to announce that I was not to receive any money or property from her estate.

Legally I am the sole heir because I am the only child decendant of her only child (my father) who is deceased.

What are my legal rights ? What can I do with such short notice ?

More important than any financial gains I worry about never getting the only known photo albums containing pictures of my deceased father.

Please advise !!!

 

[nextwife]

Hire an attorney to petition for the photos of your dad. Be aware that, if there IS a properly drafted, witnessed and prepared will, the decedant can legally disinherit anyone they wish.

On what legal basis do you wish to challenge the will? Was she not of sound mind at the time this will was done, or were you not in touch to know?

 

[sinyclaw]

Unfortunately,

She was NEVER of sound mind. It would be too painful & embarrasing to mention the hurtful stories here.

Long story short: She was surrounded by parasites who would hang on her every last word in order to receive a financial windfall in the end.

The woman didn't want any part of my children, because they were not brought us Jewish & I married a non-Jewish girl. She said dreaful things about them which facilitated the end of our relationship.

I sat down the last two days and made a list of all the insanity she proliferated over the course of my lifetime and couldn't believe it.

Is it possible I can delay these proceding due to the fact that I was purposely given late notice ?

HELP !

 

[nextwife]

You could likely get an attorney and delay the hearings, but the result could end up being the same.

Who you married, and what religion you chose to raise your children was YOUR choice. However, if being Jewish and having her Grandchildren raised Jewish was important to Grandma, don't expect her to financially REWARD you for making a choice to NOT have your children raised in the Jewish faith - that was HER choice.

Our parents and Grandparents are not OBLIGATED to leave us anything.

If you can prove that Grandma was actually not of sound mind vs. cranky or disagreeable or had strongly held views, you may be able to have an attornery challenge the will.

 

[sinyclaw]

Nextwife,

I really don't care about her finances to be honest. If I wasn't negatively mentioned in the will I wouldn't have even cared or know. But since I've been included I now don't want to make this process easy for anyone.

In particular I want to get the photo albums and cherry pick the pictures of my dad.

If my children got a few $ out of the deal that would be a bonus.

I also would like to prevent her executor from erecting a monument mentioning my father, myself or my children. I believe since that since she chose to disown us we have the right to prevent her estate from referencing us.

In your response you make it sound like I believe she was obligated to leave us something. I don't believe that for a second.

I just don't understand why I needed to be singled out specifically in this will & why the folks handling it made sure to contact me at the last minute.

Do you not think it was shaddy that I was contacted 3 days prior to the probate date without any business days in between. The court date is tomorrow @ 9:30pm. Today is a legal holiday.

I also called the lawyer who drew up the papers there times and left messages. They have still not contacted me.

Please advise.

 

[nextwife]

Legally, I believe that a relative cannot be legally disinherited in a will UNLES that intent is specifically mentioned in the will and the party mentioned by name. The process of naming you was required in order to not leave you anything. So, she could not just leave you out of the will, you had to be mentioned if it was her desire to clarify that her estate was not leaving anything to you.

By monument, are you referring to the gravestone that will eventually be erected? Or a memorial plaque somewhere?

Look, you would not physically exist if she had never lived.
Let it go.
If the family wants to say she was mother to your dad, they have the right to have the gravesite marker say that. She was. Your problem with Grandma does not remove the fact that she was your dad's mom,
and dad wouldn't have been around without her,
and you wouldn't have been around without dad.

I don't know why notice was not given sooner. Most Law offices are not closed today. Hire an attorney if you want and have him deal with it tomorrow, and if he can delay it, he will.

 

[Dandy Don]

So sorry that your grandmother did not have a good relationship with you.

Since you already know you have been disinherited, it would not even be wise for you to attend the reading unless you just want to see the other people there. A "reading of the will" is something that happens only on TV, and since the will is public record, you can go to the courthouse and get a copy of it any time if you have not already received a copy.

You could send a letter to the executor requesting the items that you are particularly interested in (or better yet leave a phone message about this), but in view of the bad feelings it doesn't look as if they are going to cooperate with your request.

 

[sinyclaw]

Looks to me like I have no grounds to stand on. In fact Nextwife has gainfully informed me that I am the "bad one" here.

Sounds to me like Nextwife has some preconceived notions or ideas of what this situation is about.

I get the implication that I'm the bratty disrespectful grandchild who should just go away and take my punishment.

I logged in here to get some helpful legal advise not social commentary.

I would have been happy if I had never been drawn into this case, but unfortunately I have been.

I think it's not too much to ask for the few photos and curios relating to my father.

My mom passed away this past May & I promised here I wouldn't let this all slide off my back, so I owe her that.

 

[sinyclaw]

Well the plot sickens.

I called the Executrix of the will and she had no idea that the proceedings scheduled for tomorrow were taking place. She volunteered information that she was not "hand on" in the process.

She also expressed shock that I had NOT been informed by the lawyer or my grandmother's cousin (the person scheduled to inherit).

Now the biggest shocker !!!

She passed away late in 2002 !!!

Quite suspicious how they've kept this info to themselves all this time and now all of a sudden at the last minute I've been contacted.

This all amazes me !

This really leads me to believe that point #3 for contesting a will has occured (3 there was fraud, force or undue influence).

I intend to ask for an ajournment tomorrow & I will see how it plays out.

Any futher advise with these new revelations ?

 

[aztecs]

I believe, here in California, each "interested party" must be given 15 days notice. Not sure if same in NY.

Also, as I've gone through a couple of delays myself, it doesn't sound too difficult to get these proceedings delayed, at least a couple of weeks. Especially if you're named in the will, even as disinherited, and especially considering the fact you were given such little notice.

That would allow you time to read the document, and decide if you have any recourse. At the very least maybe negotiate the acquisitions of some pictures by agreeing not to challenge the will if they'll let you have the pictures you want.

You do have some options, however scant.

 

[Dandy Don]

If the people who ARE named in the will are not related to your grandmother, were they her friends?

Yes, the delayed filing is a bit odd unless they just recently discovered the will's whereabouts. You should be taking the will to a probate attorney who has experience with will contests to have him/her evaluate it to see how strong and legally justifiable your chances for contesting are (Does the signature look like her signature or is it forged? Was she under mind-altering medications during the time that she signed? Is it witnessed by the proper number of witnesses?, etc. are factors he/she will want to consider). Since you seem absolutely sure that she was never of sound mind, your chances look good but are there doctors or witnesses who would also testify to her state of mind?

The only problem is that you may have to put up a few thousand dollars upfront to retain the attorney to defend you.

 

[sinyclaw]

I spoke with the petitioning attorney last night and he agreeed to the ajournment & apologized for not notifying me earlier.

After chatting w/him for about 30 minutes I found out that I knew him from my old neighborhood where we played baseball together.

After 30 more minutes of chatting he spilt the beans on what went down.

Basically, my grandmother had a joint account with her cousin (the inheriter) and all the money was pretty much depleted due to illness and assisted living.

All that's left is less than $2,500 in stocks.

He called the cousin to find out about getting me my pictures & chastized her for not calling me sooner and giving me the courtesy of informing me that my grandmother passed.

I met up with him this morning at the court and he gave me all his papers and said he had to run to another court across the street. He told me that I should let the judge know that the petitioner is in full agreement with my request for ajournment and the new court date would be at my descretion.

We'll wait and see now if I get the pictures.

I'm still debating if I'm going to contest the remaining stocks, so my girls would have a little bit of money for schooling.