stepfathers will

[sharonk]

I live in Minnesota and my stepfather is in the hospital
waiting to die and his daughter is taking stuff out of my
mothers house and has sold his vehicles and kept the money
in the papers that where filed after my mother died my
stepfather was left 1/3 of the house to live in until he
died and us five children from my mother get the other
2/3 to divide up. My mother is the one who worked and paid
for that house my stepfather never worked he got social
security to live on. What right does his daughter have to
take stuff out now? Who should I talk to about this problem.

 

[advisor10]

(01-18-2001)

Do you know whether or not your stepfather has a will? If he does have one, then who would have been named the Executor of The Estate--that person is in charge of disposing the property, etc. If this daughter has been named Executor and if she is following his instructions as to how the property should be handled, then there may not be very much you can do.

If he had a will, it will take a few months for the estate affairs to be settled--the house may have to be sold and this could take a little bit of time. Was the house paid for or were mortgage payments still being made?

Your mother should try to contact this daughter by mail or by phone or at least go over to the house to see if the mother was entitled to receive any of the belongings and your mother should ask if a will was made and try to get a copy if it is available. Your mother should check with your father's place of employment (if he was working) to find out if he had any life insurance policies or other benefits that she could claim. If your mother knows where the stepfather's bank was, she should contact the bank to see if his accounts are still there and if her name is on them as a beneficiary.

If you can't get any information from the daughter, then you just might have to wait until she files the will at the county courthouse, and it may take anywhere from a few months up to a year for the estate to be finished and debts paid, etc. If it is later discovered that she was not legally authorized to sell his cars or get the money out of his bank accounts, then you could file charges against her, but don't bother with doing that unless it would be financially worth it to do so. If possible, try to find out the names of any people she may have given things to.

SINCERELY,

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