Grandfather's Estate

[Skycountry]

My grandfather passed away a year and a half ago. My grandmother and father, who was an only child, are both deceased. I was always told that my grandfather's estate was to be divided between myself, his only grandchild and one of his nephews.

My problem is that my great aunt is executer of his estate–the mother of my grandfather's nephew. I was given $1000, and told the rest of my grandfathers estate ($200k+) was to go to his nephew.

My great aunt refuses to show me my grandfather's will.

What do I do now?


James

 

[Hannahd]

there should have been a reading of the will in which case if your name is on it then you should be there for the entire reading. whatever lawyer is or was handling the estate you should contact him/her.

 

[Skycountry]

Can I get a copy of the will from the probate court in the county in which he passed away? If so how long do they keep it on file? I'm now being told he left everything to my aunt and she is acting out his verbal wishes as related to her.

 

[advisor10]

12-21-2001

DEAR SKYCOUNTY:

Yes, not only CAN you get a copy of the will from the probate court, you SHOULD get a copy of the will (preferably by visiting the courthouse in person and looking at the entire probate file, or if you can't visit in person, order copies of the file by mail--if you need the address and phone number of the courthouse, send me an e-mail privately to the e-mail address shown below and I can find it for you).

Normally the will is supposed to be filed within 30 days of the person's death.

Something may be suspicious if they don't want you to see a copy of the will--which you have every right to see if you are one of the beneficiaries. If the will has not been filed yet, find out what the reason for the delay is, and if it does not sound reasonable or if they seem to be stalling, consider getting your own attorney to file a petition with the court to FORCE whoever has the will to produce it for probate. It sounds like they are stalling for time so they can figure out a strategy to misdirect or steal part of the estate.

The comment about her "acting out his verbal wishes" means nothing legally, as it is the language of the will that will decide exactly who gets what.

SINCERELY,

advisor

 

[Skycountry]

Thanks for the reply. I called the probate court today and talked to them for a long time. The will was never filed, either before or after death. Does it legally have to be filed?

 

[advisor10]

12-21-2001

DEAR SKYCOUNTRY:

Without a doubt, if a will existed, it DOES have to be legally filed. How else would the probate court know how to distribute the estate if not for the instructions of the will?

If someone is deliberately withholding the will, they will face serious legal consequences. Find your own probate attorney (preferably in the same city or county as to where the decedent died) and get the ball rolling on this. Talk to about 3-4 different attorneys before you decide on which one to use and try to find out which ones have excellent reputations (have them send you a copy of newspaper clippings about cases they have done or ask about the size of the estates they have handled). Everything is in your favor!

SINCERELY,

advisor
e-mail: [email protected]