Uncle won't pay inheritance

[melonjello]

What is the name of your state? Florida

My grandmother died in 1993 and specified I was to receive 18% of the estate as well as her 5 carat diamond ring once I turned 21. My uncle fled the state after my grandmother passed away, leaving no contact info.

I have no way of contacting my uncle. I did a public record search on him and it appears he owns some property with my great-aunt. I believe I found a mailing box address for him, and I sent a certified letter to him, but it was returned to me unopened.

Is it worth hiring an attorney and suing him? I don't know how costly it would be to even locate him. A private investigator friend of the family said it looked like he was purposely giving out false info so we oculdn't find him.

The will doesn't give an apprasial value of the diamond ring either, and we never got a record of the total amount of money in the estate.

 

[porshab]

Died without a Will

On April 1, 1972 my gradmother passed away without a will. She left behind three daughters and a son. In September of 1978 my mother received a letter from my grandmothers mortgage company stating the house was in foreclosure. Between my mother, older sister and brother-in-law they saved the house from foreclosure. Because my aunt who was residing there at the time and was not paying the mortgage payments, my mother decided we as a family were going to move into the house and take over the mortgage payments in order to keep my grandmothers house in the family. My aunt moved out and my mother moved in. When my mother remarried her and her new husband continued paying the mortgage until it was paid off. My step father has passed away also. My mother moved in with me at my home and signed my grandmothers house over to my younger sister without notifying her sisters my aunt. One of aunt 9my mothers sister), now wants her share of the house. My sister claims that because there was no will and my mother paid the remaining mortgage balance, made all necessary repairs since Deptember 1978, my mothers siblings no longer have legal rights to the property.

Is this correct?

 

[Dandy Don]

porshab, you have incorrectly "hijacked" someone else's message in error. Please hit the edit button and then have your message deleted, and then go to the "NEW POSTS" link on the blue strip at the top portion of the message board and retype your message there so that you can then receive responses to your message. Thank you.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[Dandy Don]

melonjello:

Have you gone to the county courthouse probate court to look at the probate file to see if anything whatsoever was done regarding this estate? If not, that will be your first step.

So why have you waited so long to do anything about this? Were you ever officially notified by mail by the executor that you were an heir and that the will was being probated?

Do you have any idea of what the total value of the estate was or might have been?

Yes, it would be worth it for you to get an attorney to sue to get what is rightfully yours. A private investigator can find uncle for about a $100-$200 fee and probably for the same amount can do a financial background check on the decedent. What uncle did was illegal and improper and he will now have to face the penalties. Your attorney, if he becomes newest administrator, will be able to order copies of the decedent's state and federal tax returns to get some idea of her sources of income.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])