Children are contesting will; elderly mother needs help

[scharles]

my partner's mother is 82 years old and her husband of 5 years passed away 2 1/2 years ago. her husband left a handwritten will leaving a condo worth about 100k to her. he left the majority of his estate to his children in the form of a trust. the son, who is executor, has not probated the will and has threatened to contest it, saying the wife used undue influence. two sons are attorneys and have the means to contest the will without incurring much in the way of legal expenses. the wife is almost blind, in sick health, and needs to sell the condo and move to assisted living. if she tries to have the will probated, she will eat up the value of the condo very quickly in legal fees. the children are hoping she dies before they must probate the will (4 years from decedent's death.) does the mother have any recourse?

 

[advisor10]

JUNE 26, 2001

DEAR SCHARLES:

You forgot to mention what state this is located in.

You seem to be mistaken about the cost of probate--it would NOT eat up the value of the condo in legal fees, and anyway it is the executor who is responsible for probating it, not the mother. You would be doing her a favor to advise her to get an attorney as soon as possible to represent her interests. The local bar association could recommend someone who would do pro bono work (free) or reasonably inexpensive (any attorney would be willing to discuss this situation for free with the first consultation). It would be in her best interests for the will to be probated as soon as possible (so that she can proceed with the sale of the condo), and there is no earthly reason that the other side should be allowed to wait 4 years before getting it probated!

If the executor decides to contest this will, he doesn't have grounds or evidence to prove undue influence. Someone should seriously consider filing a petition to have this executor removed--any son that would try to deny a mother her inheritance is not worth very much as a human being. Did anyone actually hear him say that he would contest the will on these grounds?

In view of her ill health, this is all the more reason that she needs her own legal representative. Who would be responsible for handling her financial affairs if she becomes mentally incompetent or unable to comprehend conversation? Hopefully not the greedy ungrateful sons, but that is what could happen if she doesn't plan in advance.

Her attorney could also look over the shoulders of the other attorneys to see if the mother is receiving her fair share of income from the trust (if she is eligible to receive anything from it). She needs someone watching out for her interests if the sons won't do it, and the sons don't seem very trustworthy or honest.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

 

[scharles]

Clarification

this is in the state of texas. i should clarify that the mother is the mother of my partner, not the deceased's family. the mother and the deceased were married late in life and the deceased's children have no relationship with my partner's mother.

i understand that the cost of probating the will is not prohibitive, but the cost of the deceased's children contesting the will is. if the mother forces probate, the children have already told her they will contest the will. the mother's only inheritance is the condo because the children received the majority of the estate through the trust.

we have tried to find a lawyer who will take this case on a probono basis but have not succeeded in finding one. do you think it would be better for her to find a lawyer who will take this on contingency rather than pay an attorney $200 - $250 an hour should the deceased's children make good on their threat? or can you recommend an agency in the state of texas (dallas?)

the mother has offered half the price of the condo to the children just to make them go away. they did not respond and have made no move to settle the estate. the real problem is any legal action she takes will probably cost her thousands of dollars. she may eventually win, but will have spent most of the money on legal fees because the sons can fight her every move cheaply.

thanks so much for your help.

 

[advisor10]

JUNE 28, 2001

This situation is so complicated that only a free consultation with various local attorneys in your area will be able to find one who is qualified and willing to take on the situation.

I don't think there is anything to worry about if a will contest occurs, since the other side has no grounds to stand on and they would lose, but I don't know how much it would cost for an attorney to represent the lady to defend her side of the case.

She should also consider having her own will prepared and a letter that states what her intentions are on how the condo should be handled if she dies and the ownership is still in dispute or if she hasn't yet received it at the time of her death. Her attorney should also file a petition to force them to probate the will so that if she is a beneficiary she can receive what she is entitled to.

Also consider contacting the law department of a local university, whose students or advisors will also sometimes handle a case for free if the situation is worthy enough.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

 

[prideluv]

Also consider contacting the law department of a local university, whose students or advisors will also sometimes handle a case for free if the situation is worthy enough.

Can u put me in touch with anyone in the St Louis area? I have yet to find a lawyer interested in any more than their pockets.