C
CarlaRenee
Guest
Dear sir, My father passed away May of 1996. He was married to my mother for 17 years, and then left her to be with a much younger woman. He and his new girlfriend had three children. They got married a few years later. He had a farm and it had belonged to my grandfather. When my father died, he had not signed his will so the land was left to be divided between me (oldest), my sister, and my three half siblings and their mother. I was told that my mother may be entitled to a part because he had owned the farm when they were married. When they divorced, my mother signed her name off of the deed. A lot has happened since then. His new wife was named executor, and she will not talk to me about anything. There was a small insurance policy that she got, and there are debts to be paid. The lawyer assigned to the estate by the County, hasn't informed me of anything. My sister and I are heart broken and we have tried to stay out of my step mother's way because we wanted to do what is right for the smaller children, but she is not returning the kindness. We had no falling out before my father died, and I don't know why she is being this way. My real question is what are my rights as far as being an heir to the estate? I have a cousin that wants to buy a portion of the land to pay the debts or else it will go for auction. My cousin and my father's wife are good freinds, and neither ever bothered to call me and tell me what was going on and why. This should not be happening because before my father died, I had a conversation with him, and he was signing a contract with a sand company that was going to pay him for sand to be used on the new highway. He died three weeks later. His wife said that he got the money and it was gone. That wasn't true because I did my homework and found that she infact had been receiving checks from Barnhill (sand co.). I was very hurt. I told the lawyer and I thought he was going to start receiving the checks and distribute them to the debtors so that we wouldn't have to sell anything. It's been two years, and we just received another certified document saying that the land will be auctioned or our cousin will buy it. My step-mother also forged my father's signature on a document that said he was selling the farm to her brother and it was notorized and therefore we (me and sister) would have no right to anything. I found this and took it to the sherrif's department. Nothing ever happened because she never pushed the issue. She also admitted to doing this. I am so sorry to boggle you with all of this, but I really don't know what to do. I have tried not to seem greedy by staying away and keeping peace, but I am getting ran over. I asked the lawyer about the checks that she had already gotten and the money she has made from the farm rights and hunting rights, but he says that he thinks she may be entitled to it because of her being the wife. He can't give me an answer. I don't know where to turn. My husband is military and we are 1000 miles away. We don't know how the cost of a lawyer will affect us, and we have four children and I am in college. Is there anything I can do on my own? Or what would be your thoughts on this complicated situation? The estate is in NORTH CAROLINA. Thank you and God bless. Carla