Grandmothers intent thrown out the window

[josh76]

What is the name of your state? Rhode Island

Before I state my case I should point out that my grandmother was very well off, and constituted 95% of the wealth that my stepgrandfather and she shared.

My grandmother and stepgrandfather had wills written that gave each other full control of all monies and property upon the others death. There was also a provision in the will in which if the death of one was followed by the death of the other then it was to be split evenly amongst the listed heirs (children). my grandmother named all of her children (7 total, 2 from a previous husband) and my stepgrandfather's matching will stated the same total (although 2 of the kids were quite obviously not biologically his). My father has told me that before my grandmothers death in 1997 they had conversations that the intent of the will was to make sure all of her children (regardless of who the father) were to be treated evenly. My family thought that arrangement had been kept up until a few weeks after my stepgrandfather's death at which point it was revealed that he had rewritten his will giving the entire estate (over $1,200,000) to his 5 biological children, and gave his remaining stepchildren (my father and uncle) $25,000 each. Quite obviously my father is shocked and hurt at this point and is unsure what if anything can be done considering he never contested my grandfathers will (thinking he could trust his stepmother). There is also a question as to whether or not the will could be valid as my stepgrandfather did not even READ ENGLISH, and the official copy was written in english.

I guess I am asking if the will can be contested based on the trust my grandmother had initially placed, she hadn't believed he would rewrite his will leaving some of her children out, especially considering the vast majority of their wealth was hers.

Secondly, does the fact that it was signed by someone whose ability to read in English matter?

 

[Dandy Don]

The will CAN NOT be contested on the trust your grandmother had placed, because the man legally has the right to rewrite his will since it is his money to do with as he pleases.

The question is did he really rewrite it of his own free will or was there undue influence by a son or daughter who knew what the first will said and obviously wanted to gain more by disinheriting the others.

What did the man die of? What month and year did the death occur?
Would he have been under the influence of medication that could have affected his judgement?
Was the newer will prepared by an attorney?
Did he sign power of attorney over to a child of his or someone else to handle his financial affairs?
What language did he speak, what country did he come from, and did he even have a basic understanding of how to read English--didn't he sign his own name that way?
Does the will specifically disinherit the non-biological children by name and does it mention a reason why they are disinherited?

Interested party (your father) needs to take the will to a local probate attorney and explain the circumstances to see if he has legal grounds to contest it or not.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[nextwife]

Honestly, the only way a person can guaranty that their assets eventually pass to whomever they wish is the segregate those assets in some way that prevents them from becoming the property of another. You can't leave your assets to someone based on a presumption that inheriting party will then themselves leave the inheritance to those the first person desired. There are a number of ways to do this. IT is VERY rare that both die simultaneously, one will usually preceed the other.

 

[josh76]

Thank you for the replys, I have talked to my father and he is going to consult an attorney.

In response to your questions:

What did the man die of? What month and year did the death occur?
Heart attack? January of this year

Would he have been under the influence of medication that could have affected his judgement?

He's been sick on and off the last 3 years so its possible that the meds he was taking to reduce pain could have had an affect on his judgement, but i can't be sure.


Was the newer will prepared by an attorney?

It was an attorney hand picked by my "step"uncle

Did he sign power of attorney over to a child of his or someone else to handle his financial affairs?

Yup, my stepuncle took care of everything and so had power of attorney

What language did he speak, what country did he come from, and did he even have a basic understanding of how to read English--didn't he sign his own name that way?

He came over from Brazil. His native toungue was portuguese but he did speak english reasonably well, it was a bit of a family secret that he didn't read, we would just read what was on the page and he would trust us and sign away.

Does the will specifically disinherit the non-biological children by name and does it mention a reason why they are disinherited?

He mentioned biological children by name in the first few sections explaining how they would divide his estate then followed that with a section devoted to the children of his late wife (my grandmother) and how they would get a small sum...


Thanks again for all your help, this has been a rather rude awakening on how some people can put money above all else.

 

[Dandy Don]

Being disinherited by the will precludes you from getting anything from the will, but you should ask the attorney if your state has laws against abuse of POA. POA is supposed to provide an accounting of funds spent, with backup receipts, to prove he hasn't kept or spent the monies on himself.