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How do I get a copy of my deceased grandfather's will?

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C

cmelick

Guest
My grandfather passed away last December (in NY). He had three children, one of which is my mother. My grandmother (his wife) is still alive. My uncle now has power of attorney over my grandmother's finances and it appears to the rest of the family that he is abusing that power (in a bad way). Utility companies are constantly threatening to turn off power because the bills are not getting paid.

My mother and aunt were supposed to get money via the will but never got a copy of the will or saw any money. Only my uncle seems to have benefited.

My question is this: How do I (or my mom) request a copy of my grandfather's will to see what was in there? Is this public record or do we have to find out the attorney's name and request a copy from him? My grandmother is not a good source as she is not that well and does not want to believe her son could do anything wrong so probably won't be much help.

My uncle is not a good man and my siblings and I want to make sure that my mother and aunt are not taken advantage of by him.

Thanks so much for the help!

(The family in question all live in NY; I live in MA.)

CM
 
Last edited:


A

advisor10

Guest
10-24-2001

DEAR CMELICK:

If you know the month and year of your grandfather's death, and the city/state where he died, then you need to check at the Probate Court or Surrogate's/Family Court for that city or county to look at his will. It is public record and you can visit the courthouse to look at the probate file, or request copies by mail. If you need help finding the courthouse address, send me an e-mail to the e-mail address shown below and I can find it for you, but wouldn't it be easier for someone in the family in New York to go do this?

There will be information in the file about who the executor is (name and address) and other financial information in the file about how the estate affairs were handled. If this uncle was named as executor, a second party should also review the probate file information with you to see if anything improper has occurred. If beneficiaries did not receive their monies, you need to hire an attorney or file a claim with the executor bonding insurance company to recover any stolen monies.

Also, it is possible to cancel or revoke a power of attorney and have this uncle replaced by someone else if necessary or if he has done things that are illegal or improper.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]
 
C

cmelick

Guest
Thanks!

Thank you very much for your help! I did call the Surrogate Court in the NY county where my grandfather lived and they told me how I could find out if the will was filed. I will probably have one of my NY cousins go to the courthouse and see if the will was filed. Then, we'll request a copy, if it was indeed filed. If it wasn't filed, we'll try to find out the original lawyer's name.

I'm not sure my grandmother would agree to replacing the existing Power of Attorney (my uncle) but I'm hoping she would agree to a joint Power of Attorney so an additional person can have access to her financial information, and try to hold my uncle accountable.

I guess there are a lot of these soap operas out there. It's nice to know there are people around that can help.

Thanks, again!

CM
 

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