Left out of inheritance

[Inquirer898]

Hello,
My grandfather died in 2011. He lived in the US. We only discovered recently that he did not write a will instead he transferred all his estate to his wife shortly before his death, he died at 90.

Now my father is left out of any inheritance since my grandfather wife is not my father's mother. We don't live in the states and We are not American citizens.

Few years before his death my grandfather suffered from cerebral strokes and went a couple of cardiac procedures. Him not leaving a will and all the estate being transferred to one beneficiary seems peculiar to us.

Do we have a legal ground to take any action ?

 

[TigerD]

Generally speaking - which we have to do because you failed to provide the state - the time to challenge the estate is within one year. You most likely too late. But if proper notice wasn't given.... If the estate was large enough to justify hiring an attorney to review it, you could do that.

TD

 

[Just Blue]

Hello,
My grandfather died in 2011. He lived in the US. We only discovered recently that he did not write a will instead he transferred all his estate to his wife shortly before his death, he died at 90.

Now my father is left out of any inheritance since my grandfather wife is not my father's mother. We don't live in the states and We are not American citizens.

Few years before his death my grandfather suffered from cerebral strokes and went a couple of cardiac procedures. Him not leaving a will and all the estate being transferred to one beneficiary seems peculiar to us.

Do we have a legal ground to take any action ?

Yes...The "action" you should take is to the widow. Express your sorrow for her loss... and gratefulness that she was there for your grandfather when his children and grandchildren could/would not.

 

[Inquirer898]

Generally speaking - which we have to do because you failed to provide the state - the time to challenge the estate is within one year. You most likely too late. But if proper notice wasn't given.... If the estate was large enough to justify hiring an attorney to review it, you could do that.

TD

Thank you for your reply TigerD

He lived in Texas

 

[flybuy22]

action

Yes...The "action" you should take is to the widow. Express your sorrow for her loss... and gratefulness that she was there for your grandfather when his children and grandchildren could/would not.

It is wrong of you to assume that the Father and Grandchildren were not there for the Grandfather. Considering the OP lived outside the US, there may be travel/cost limitations for personal visits. I think communication/relationships via phone, Skype, email etc are appropriate.

 

[Just Blue]

It is wrong of you to assume that the Father and Grandchildren were not there for the Grandfather. Considering the OP lived outside the US, there may be travel/cost limitations for personal visits. I think communication/relationships via phone, Skype, email etc are appropriate.

It's been FOUR YEARS. I would think that if OP was in communication with her/his Grandfather this matter would have come up sooner.

 

[LdiJ]

Hello,
My grandfather died in 2011. He lived in the US. We only discovered recently that he did not write a will instead he transferred all his estate to his wife shortly before his death, he died at 90.

Now my father is left out of any inheritance since my grandfather wife is not my father's mother. We don't live in the states and We are not American citizens.

Few years before his death my grandfather suffered from cerebral strokes and went a couple of cardiac procedures. Him not leaving a will and all the estate being transferred to one beneficiary seems peculiar to us.

Do we have a legal ground to take any action ?

Legally your grandfather had the right to direct his estate, one way or another, to his wife. Or that could be done by leaving her as the beneficiary to each of his assets, or could be automatic if she was a joint owner of any particular asset.

Unless you grandfather had significant assets that were held separately, without his wife as the beneficiary, its probably not worth pursuing.

 

[Inquirer898]

Legally your grandfather had the right to direct his estate, one way or another, to his wife. Or that could be done by leaving her as the beneficiary to each of his assets, or could be automatic if she was a joint owner of any particular asset.

Unless you grandfather had significant assets that were held separately, without his wife as the beneficiary, its probably not worth pursuing.

Yes, I totally understand he has all the right to direct his estate. The thing is he was in a such a condition where his good sense judgment may be impaired. By deeding all his estate to his wife only my father was left out. All of his other sons and daughters can benefit from the money since everything is owned by their mother now.

We were somehow being kept away from knowing his exact medical condition especially during his last years. Can a person diagnosed with alzehiemer for instance be fully responsible for such action.

Again, we are not denying my late grandfather the right to where he wished his money to go. And as far we know his wife was not a joint owner.

His wife and his children of course had a hard time and had to deal with his medical expenses but that's not a reason to deny my father his right. My grandfather estate worth millions.

 

[Just Blue]

Yes, I totally understand he has all the right to direct his estate. The thing is he was in a such a condition where his good sense judgment may be impaired. By deeding all his estate to his wife only my father was left out. All of his other sons and daughters can benefit from the money since everything is owned by their mother now.

We were somehow being kept away from knowing his exact medical condition especially during his last years. Can a person diagnosed with alzehiemer for instance be fully responsible for such action.

Again, we are not denying my late grandfather the right to where he wished his money to go. And as far we know his wife was not a joint owner.

His wife and his children of course had a hard time and had to deal with his medical expenses but that's not a reason to deny my father his right. My grandfather estate worth millions.

If your Grandfather decided to leave the millions to the local Animal Shelter. ...That was his right. No adult child has a "right" to their parents money/property.

 

[justalayman]

His wife and his children of course had a hard time and had to deal with his medical expenses but that's not a reason to deny my father his right. My grandfather estate worth millions.

yet you only bring this up 4 or more years after his death. The time to dispute the distribution was about 4 years ago. Why has your husband waited this long to question anything?

 

[flybuy22]

Yes, I totally understand he has all the right to direct his estate. The thing is he was in a such a condition where his good sense judgment may be impaired. By deeding all his estate to his wife only my father was left out. All of his other sons and daughters can benefit from the money since everything is owned by their mother now.

We were somehow being kept away from knowing his exact medical condition especially during his last years. Can a person diagnosed with alzehiemer for instance be fully responsible for such action.

Again, we are not denying my late grandfather the right to where he wished his money to go. And as far we know his wife was not a joint owner.

His wife and his children of course had a hard time and had to deal with his medical expenses but that's not a reason to deny my father his right. My grandfather estate worth millions.

It seems to me your grandfather's wife did her best to keep you and your father away from your grandfather and took advantage of the fact that you live outside the country. I would consult with a Texas attorney to find out, what, if any legal recourse you have considering, especially if he was mentally impaired and was not able to make rational decisions with his financial wealth. I would suspect undue influence by the second wife. Unfortunately, this kind of relationship often excludes other family members who are have legal interests in how the money is allocated.