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[logan66]

My mother died in Aug. of 2001 in Florida. I went recently to the probate court to see if my mothers will was filed. The clerk said no will had been filed. My one sister that acted the overseer of my mother and step-dad had said that our mother had no will. So, I had another sister call my step-dads lawyer to get a copy of her will to see if she really had one. The lawyer agreed and said she would drop the copy of my mother's will at her brothers house for me to pick up. I go over to pick it up and the lawyers brother said he could not find it and that it had be there for 2 days. He wanted to call me when he found it. The lawyers brother called back and said he didnt find it but call his sister and she wanted me to call her back. Well, I called her and she said I was violating the law by asking for a copy of my mothers will.
Please help, I dont have much money. How can I go about getting a copy of my own mothers will?

 

[advisor10]

3-5-2002

DEAR LOGAN:

First of all, it is NOT illegal for you to request a copy of your mother's will. As a family member and a potential beneficiary, you have every legal right to have a copy of it, and anyone who says you don't needs to cite to you the specific law to back up their argument (but trust me, they won't be able to because there isn't one). You are being given the brush-off by other family members who don't want you to know what the value of the estate is and whether you have something coming to you (probably because they want to steal it from you, or keep you in the dark about it for as long as possible).

Normally, it is a requirement that a person's will be filed at the probate court county courthouse within 30 days after the person's death. So, if they haven't filed it by now, I would guess that they don't intend to file it ever, because if they did, they would have to provide an official record of what monies and assets were claimed, and how it was distributed. They think that by not filing, they can control the monies and assets and divide them up anyway they want to, without anyone else knowing about it (unless there is some other reason that I am not aware of). They are making a mistake by not filing the will, because if they had, then they would have had the authority to start claiming her assets.

You really do need to consult with a local probate attorney to find out what your options are. You can file paperwork to become the administrator of the estate (or your attorney can be administrator if you prefer to do it that way), and then tell the probate judge that they are hiding the will from you, and ask the judge to provide a court order forcing them to produce the will for probate. If they have claimed your mother's monies or property without having authority as administrator, then that it improper and they will have to return the monies/property to the court for you or your attorney to administer.

I hope you have at least 1 other person (hopefully outside of the family, but another family member would also work if that is all that is available) who would be willing to sign a statement to confirm that the will actually does exist. In order for an attorney to consider taking your case, you also need to have some basic idea of how much your mother's estate might be worth, or information about any of her assets (where did she bank, what was her house worth--is it paid for, what other items of value did she have: CD's, pension, savings, insurance, etc.).

If possible, don't let your other family members know what you are doing, legally, until they find out that they will have to produce information in court. I'll bet they will be shocked to discover that they can't take advantage of you like they thought they could!

SINCERELY,

advisor