copy of Will

[Fl Cat7]

What is the name of your state?We are in FL but action in PA.
My husband received his copy of his grandfathers Will.
It is states:
1. Last expenses to be paid from assets of estate.
2. A. Masonic jewel and apron to his lodge.
B. I give my 5,226.47 shares of XXX stock, and if shares of such stock shall change then the # shares to be given to each beneficiary shall be given, as near as practicable, in the same proportions as I direct, in the following amounts.
1. 1,000. shares to granson 1. (only child of oldest son)
2. 900 shares to each grandchildren 2&3 (children of only daughter)
3. 900 shares to grand child 4 (son of youngest son)
4. 500 shares to grand children 5&6 (illegitimate chlidren of
youngest son
5. 276.47 shares to his church.
6. 250 shares to his lodge
3. The rest and residue of my estate in equal shares to my children xx &xy or to the survivor of them should one predecease me. Then to their descendants, per stirpes.
4. Any beneficiary under 22 or incapable, Executors hold and can do as they see fit.
5. No intrest in income or principal shall be assignable to anyone having claim against a beneficiary before actual payment to the beneficiary.
6. My Executors shall have the following powers without Court approval... ie real and personal property compromise claims, sell or mortgage, pledge property join in any merger, reorganization, voting trust of security holders ect.
7. ALL state, inheritance, succession and other death taxes imposed upon or payable by reason of my death, and interest and penalties thereon, if any, with respect to all property comprising my gross estate for death tax purposes, shall be paid from the principal of my general estate.
8. I appoint my son, daughter and attorney Co-Executors. no bond required.

The stock split 2 for 1 last May. The Aunt and Uncle did not want give the splits, they wanted to keep half for themselves. Then we get a release with the Will that says if my husband gives them 90 (for taxes) shares they will give him the other 1,910 shares. They made it sound like they were doing him a favor.
There was a first Will with oldest son in spilt evenly between all, that was done with wife/mother, but do not have copy.
My husband feels something is very wrong. He had a great relationship with his grandfather, even naming his first son after him, taking children up there to be christined in grandfathers church (we live in FL). No one has given a reason why his father is not even metioned, especialy since it states if aunt or uncle die their children get their share. His aunt and uncle cashed in $50,000. CD right before grandfather died and have made claims estate worth over $1,000,000. What should he do?

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: What should he do?
A: About what? This is what gramps wanted to do.

My husband feels something is very wrong. He had a great relationship with his grandfather, even naming his first son after him, taking children up there to be christined in grandfathers church (we live in FL). No one has given a reason why his father is not even metioned, especialy since it states if aunt or uncle die their children get their share.

Apparently this great relationship did not extend to leaving a bunch of dough.

 

[Fl Cat7]

He is not sure if this is what his grandfather wanted or what aunt and uncle wanted. He suffered from Alzheimer's. The first will that was made when his grandmother was alive gave everyone equal shares. If the will had said something ,anything about his dad, or that if aunt or uncle died then other one got everything (instead of thier children) He probably would not have these doubts. He also thinks, reading the will the estate is responsible for the taxes. Thank you for your time.

 

[seniorjudge]

He is not sure if this is what his grandfather wanted or what aunt and uncle wanted. He suffered from Alzheimer's. The first will that was made when his grandmother was alive gave everyone equal shares. If the will had said something ,anything about his dad, or that if aunt or uncle died then other one got everything (instead of thier children) He probably would not have these doubts. He also thinks, reading the will the estate is responsible for the taxes. Thank you for your time.

Of course, in your first post, you did not bother to mention the trifling little matter that the will could've been fraudulently procured because of grandpa's incompetency.

If that is what you think happened, then get a probate attorney and contest the will. Will contest statutes of limitations are usually very short; you may have already waited too late. Get cracking.

 

[Fl Cat7]

Sorry

I really can't believe I forgot to put that in. It has been a very long day. Our 1 yr old twins are teething and not sleeping well. I'm just trying to get some opinions before he starts spending alot of time and energy on this. There have been a lot of little things since his grandfather died that have led him to these doubts. They have lied about a couple of things and are really trying to get him to sign the release quickly. And It does not sound like his grandfather. He is also concerned for his 2 youngest cousins as thier father will probably blow thier shares before they reach 22. If he does not presue this does the Will (part 7) say he pays the taxes or the estate? Thank you for your time.

 

[anteater]

If he does not presue this does the Will (part 7) say he pays the taxes or the estate? Thank you for your time.

Will seems pretty clear that the estate is to pay the inheritance tax. Also, take a look at Section 2144 of the PA code here:

http://www.alignedpartners.com/Title_20_web_entry_page.htm

(Oops, the link goes to the top level web page. Click on the link to the Inheritance and Estate Tax Act. Then Part VII, then Section 2144.)

 

[Fl Cat7]

Thank you that was very interesting. Hopefully he will get a clearer idea what he wants to do. The whole way they have been acting, telling him they will go ahead and let him have the splits if he won't contest the will really shook him. The idea had not even come up because he didn't even have a copy of the will then. He still thought the 1st Will was in place. They lied that there was a new will until after grandfather died. Thanks again if anyone else has any ideas please let me know.

 

[Dandy Don]

(1) What month and year did the death occur?

(2) Did the stock split happen before the death or after it? Someone needs to warn the aunt and uncle that they must insure that the stock split is done and accounted for correctly because it will be scrutinized by the IRS, so they will be in trouble if they are trying to do something shady.

(3) Let's hope that your husband didn't sign the release, since they are trying to pull a fast one on him. They have no business asking your husband for his shares for taxes--that is THEIR responsibility to pay before shares are distributed. If he already signed it, he needs to get a probate attorney to get it revoked.

From the situation you've described it truly looks like your husband is right to be concerned--this is a classic case of undue influence or elder financial abuse.

(4) What is the total value of the estate (not including the stocks), or what other assets are in this estate besides the stock? Grandfather had the right to designate whoever he wanted as beneficiary, so husband did not necessarily need to be named specifically, since husband also benefits if there is any residue of the estate left over, but it doesn't look as if there will be.

(5) Was it a known fact that grandpa had Alzheimer's or symptoms of it at around the time he signed the will? You can probably get his medical records or his doctor's testimony to confirm that fact and whether he could have been taking medications that influenced his judgement where he would have been susceptible to anything that aunt and uncle suggested.

(6) Who was the named beneficiary of the CD that was cashed in and who cashed it? Bank will probably not release this information to you except through your attorney, but it looks like aunt and uncle had power of attorney to do this which is probably an indication that they raided other monies from the estate. If they used it to pay for grandpa's care, then that is acceptable, but if they spent or kept it for themselves then this is abuse of power of attorney.

Your only problem in contesting the will is that it will cost you a few thousand dollars upfront to retain an attorney to do so. So you need to consult with your attorney to find out if your state has laws against abuse of power of attorney and figure out if it would be cheaper/preferable to charge them with that rather than contesting the will.

Your posting is confusing in that you say he thought the first will was in place, and then you say they lied about their being a newer will. The truth is that you don't know if the will they presented to probate court is the older one or the newer one. Look at grandma's probate file to see if it is the same will being probated now and make sure your attorney knows about that will as well.

Aunt and uncle have committed some type of misdeeds and it is now up to your attorney to figure out exactly what happened. They are trying to rob this estate blind and I hope this will have a good outcome for you and your husband. Thank you for standing up for what is right! Put these crooks away for good and get them out as co-executors!


DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[Fl Cat7]

(1) Grandfather died 1/05, the will they are using is dated 3/02. We don't know when the first will was done but it was before his grandmother died in 2001.
(2) stock split in 5/04.
(3) No he has not signed anything.
(4) "Well over 1 million" according to aunt House 350,000 to 600,000 Husband knows of at aleast 2 checking and 1 savings account with over 25,000. in each. New car aleast 20,000, uncle took day grandfather died. Plus jewelry (?)aunt took day grandfather died, 50,000. CD that they admitted cashing, they did have POA. My husband is sure there is more but this he knows.
(5) My husband is calling Dr. this week.
(6) They now claim they needed to money for expenses. But as I said my husband was there 3 times in the last 6 months to spend time with grandfather and help (which even though they live in same town was to much for them) so they had atleast 75,000 in checking and saving. Funeral was prepaid and grandfather had very good insurance. My husband found out about the CD because everyone was spending like it was going out of style when he got there, which was the day his grandfather died.
My husband is still reeling from the whole thing. He does not understand how his dad could not be mentioned even if it just said "I leave to my surviving children." The fact that they each will get atleast 500,000. and on top of that first wanted to keep the stock splits, then they said they won't contest the stock splits if he pays the taxes, even though the will is clear on this, it is mind blowing. We also took his 1 cousin in when even his mom and dad didn't want him and he ate everything in the house, got a ticket in my car and did not tell me, and basicly cost us alot of money, did not help at all, and had bill collectors, calling here every day for months, until CD got cashed, now his car payments are up his cell is back on and the calls have stopped. We have 6 kids and my husband was disabled last year. They know we are having a really hard time until his SSDI gets approved. I just can't get over it.
Anyway enough venting. Thanks to everyone and extra thanks Dandy Don for the detailed answer.
Cat

 

[seniorjudge]

Best advice: Get a lawyer. Will contest statutes of limitation are usually very short. If you feel you need to protect your rights, you need to do it today.

 

[Fl Cat7]

My husband talked to his uncle (he call us) today and told him he would not pay the taxes or sign the release. But he would follow the will. His uncle said "I guess we'll see you in court". Their greed is unbelieveable.

 

[Fl Cat7]

I am so MAD

My husbands cousin called today and asked if my husband was going to sign the release the lawyer sent and pay the estate taxes. My husband will not talk to this cousin. When I told him my husband would follow the will but will not sign the release or give up some of his shares, he went nuts cussing ME out and saying my husband will have to try to fight it in court. So I have 2 new questions;
1. If the aunt and uncle don't hand over all the stocks due my husband how does he inforce it?
2. How long does he have to contest the will?
Thank you for your time. Cat

 

[seniorjudge]

My husbands cousin called today and asked if my husband was going to sign the release the lawyer sent and pay the estate taxes. My husband will not talk to this cousin. When I told him my husband would follow the will but will not sign the release or give up some of his shares, he went nuts cussing ME out and saying my husband will have to try to fight it in court. So I have 2 new questions;
1. If the aunt and uncle don't hand over all the stocks due my husband how does he inforce it?
2. How long does he have to contest the will?
Thank you for your time. Cat

You need to get a lawyer in the state where the will is being probated.

Will contest statutes of limitation are very short. Get going.

 

[Fl Cat7]

Husband on the fence.

My husband still does not know what he wants to do. He was disabled this past May and he is undecided if he should fight for what is right or just take less quickly and be done with it. If he knew what the time limits are it would help. Does anyone know what the statue of limititation is to contest a will in PA? Thanks for your help. Cat.

 

[seniorjudge]

My husband still does not know what he wants to do. He was disabled this past May and he is undecided if he should fight for what is right or just take less quickly and be done with it. If he knew what the time limits are it would help. Does anyone know what the statue of limititation is to contest a will in PA? Thanks for your help. Cat.

http://members.aol.com/DKM1/20.Cp.25.html

It says not all the PA statutes are on line.

If you go to a law school library in your area, look in the PA statutes in the area of the link I have provided.