Lost In The Will

[Purrfek45]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia....Just trying to seek advice if I have rights or not....Grandmother passed in 95 and had a will drawn in 1990. My uncle is listed as the executor of her will and upon her passing since me and my two aunts are also listed in her will he gave us some money from her three policies. My question is that my grandmother had a home as well when she was living which my aunt moved into before she passed last year, my uncle sold the house this year I found out....since the three of us are listed in the will are we all qualified to get money from the sale of the home?...it reads like this where my name is mentioned..I give,devise and bequeth the entire residue of my estate, wheather real, personal or mixed, of evry kind and whatever the situation at the time of my death by the power of appointment to : ( children are listed at this point)....so because I'm a tad bit ignorant of the wording does this mean that because he's the executor that he was to divid the sales of the home, or as the executor he could sale the home and keep the funds for himself)?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia....Just trying to seek advice if I have rights or not....Grandmother passed in 95 and had a will drawn in 1990. My uncle is listed as the executor of her will and upon her passing since me and my two aunts are also listed in her will he gave us some money from her three policies. My question is that my grandmother had a home as well when she was living which my aunt moved into before she passed last year, my uncle sold the house this year I found out....since the three of us are listed in the will are we all qualified to get money from the sale of the home?...it reads like this where my name is mentioned..I give,devise and bequeth the entire residue of my estate, wheather real, personal or mixed, of evry kind and whatever the situation at the time of my death by the power of appointment to : ( children are listed at this point)....so because I'm a tad bit ignorant of the wording does this mean that because he's the executor that he was to divid the sales of the home, or as the executor he could sale the home and keep the funds for himself)?

It really depends on how the assets were originally divided...whether or not the value of the home was considered in the division.

 

[curb1]

Find out at the courthouse how the house was titled. Whose name was on the title before uncle sold the house. That won't cost anything to find out.

Was will submitted for probate when grandmother died? That should be available at the courthouse.

 

[anteater]

Are you saying that your grandmother passed away in 1995?

since the three of us are listed in the will are we all qualified to get money from the sale of the home?...it reads like this where my name is mentioned..I give,devise and bequeth the entire residue of my estate, wheather real, personal or mixed, of evry kind and whatever the situation at the time of my death by the power of appointment to : ( children are listed at this point)....

It is not possible to venture an opinion (and that is all it would be) based upon one provision taken from a will. At the time when your grandmother passed away, did you receive notice of probate and then further information regarding the probate estate, such as an accounting, etc.? Or did you just suddenly receive a check? Have you talked to your uncle?

I suggest that:

1) You contact the probate court in the county in which grandmother resided to inquire about obtaining a copy of the probate case file for your grandmother's estate.

2) You contact whatever county department that maintains land records to determine the chain of ownership of the home.

3) Take what you have obtained, along with a copy of the will, to a local probate attorney.


It is difficult to imagine that ownership of the home was not dealt with during probate. Difficult, but not impossible...

 

[Purrfek45]

I have the following documents from the county

All the county had on file was :

The Executors Deed which basically talks about who he sold the house to and how much he got for it.

Cancellation of Deed- has grandmothers name on it

A form called PT-61...which has sellers info which was my uncle and it shows the buyer info and how much they valued the home for.

The home was never taken out of my grandmothers name at all, if that helps. This is what I learned from the Probate Court.

 

[Purrfek45]

Probated

Yes the Will was probated, my uncle sent me a form while I was overseas back in 2008 to sign because all names mentioned in the Will had to sign this form before he was able to have it probated.

 

[curb1]

What did your uncle say when you asked him about the money from selling the house?

 

[nextwife]

Did the will bequeeth the house to anyone?

 

[Purrfek45]

When approaching my uncle upon my findings

When I inquired about learning of the sale of the home...he cursed me out and said I have no rights to any money. Threw in my face that she was not my mother but my grandmother...that hurt because I lost my mother ( my uncles sister) in a car accident when I was only a year old.

The Will spoke about who the furniture goes directly to.....and in regards to the bequeth portion it says this :I give,devise and bequeth the entire residue of my estate, wheather real, personal or mixed, of evry kind and whatever the situation at the time of my death by the power of appointment to : ( children are listed at this point)

So I'm simply trying to understand the terminology of the will...please help. Thank You

 

[anteater]

If I am understanding what you are saying, the will only says:

1) The furniture goes to some specific person.
2) The remainder of the estate is to be shared equally by "the children."
3) And that is all it says about the distribution of the estate.

But in your first post, you said, "... me and my two aunts are also listed in her will." But, from your description, the will only says, "the children."

Did your mother pass away before or after your grandmother?

I am going to repeat the suggestion that you take a copy of the will and what you have found out and consult with a local probate attorney. It really sounds like your uncle is making it up as he goes along. But you need to have someone who can read and interpret the will and knows Georgia law to determine whether you are entitled to anything.

(If I am reading correctly, you still have one living aunt. Do you have a relationship with her? Did she receive any proceeds from the sale of the house?)

 

[Purrfek45]

Thanks Anteater

yes....I have one surviving aunt now. The Will names my uncle,my two aunts and myself....unfortunately one of my aunts passed last year. My grandmother raised me since I was one years old because my mom was killed in a car accident by a DUI driver back in 68.....so I've always called my grandmother mom, since she's all Ive known....thus is why she looked out for me in her Will.

My aunt that is now living did receive funds after my uncle sold the house, and when I decided to discuss this with my uncle he went off by saying....she(my grandmother) is not my mother in the first place and he owes me nothing and that the will or the sale of the house has nothing to do with me....and then thru in my face that my grandmother has 12 other grandchildren.....all of this Im aware of I told him, but I asked him to stay focused because the will mentioned the four of us and not anyone else....because of his anger towards me made me really feel that he was guilty of something.

I took it upon myself to have send my uncle a letter with copies of my findings from probate court and he got REALLY upset and my aunt called and cussed me out for doing this and saying im being greedy for money and if i take her brother to court that i can just forget her as a aunt and him my uncle.....that really hurt my feelings. My thoughts are if i am entitled then why would they be so mad at me. Anyway...I know im babbling but I hope I answered your questions. Unfortunately...I cant afford to visit an attorney to explain the will to me...it's unfortunate but true.

 

[ecmst12]

Families get funny when money is involved. If you push the issue you may damage your relationship with your aunt and uncle forever. Is that worth it to you? If so, save up a couple hundred for a consult with a lawyer and see where it takes you.

 

[anteater]

The distribution in the will's provisions is what it is. You uncle has a fiduciary duty to follow the provisions of the will. He can't just decide to do what he wants to do.

I cant afford to visit an attorney to explain the will to me...it's unfortunate but true.

Try anyway. You can probably find at least a few that will give you 15 - 30 minutes without charge or at low cost. Call the bar association. Have copies of all the relevant documents for any consults with attorneys that you can arrange.

(Let's say that the proceeds from the house should have been distributed in 4 shares. How much would your share be?)

 

[justalayman]

..and in regards to the bequeth portion it says this :I give,devise and bequeth the entire residue of my estate, wheather real, personal or mixed, of evry kind and whatever the situation at the time of my death by the power of appointment to : ( children are listed at this point)

which children? You are obviously not your grandmothers child so based on your statement, you are not listed there. Was your mother listed? Does the will say what would happen to any given item should the named party die before the grandmother died?

 

[anteater]

which children? You are obviously not your grandmothers child so based on your statement, you are not listed there. Was your mother listed? Does the will say what would happen to any given item should the named party die before the grandmother died?

I questioned that a couple times, but the OP keeps saying:

The Will names my uncle,my two aunts and myself