Will challenge by family member!HELP!

[tangoalpha]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

OK this is kind of a simple problem I need help with. In the last will & testament it states a home was supposed to go to my father, my father is now deceasesed and I am his only decendent(his son). MY uncle is challenging me saying that I basically don't "deserve" the house and that he has some UNOFFICIAL documents and a video saying how AFTER my father passed away the house was supposed to now go to him. BUT in the Will that was an official legal document states the house would be going to me as descendant. Does he have any legal way to fight me on this? Is the will solid and unbreakable? What should I do?

 

[Kiawah]

Engage a good local attorney in the county where the father deceased, and start thru the probate process. That will flush out the challenge the uncle is making, and it will be dealt with thru that process.

 

[tangoalpha]

Well he(the uncle) is actually the executor of the estate.

 

[curb1]

The Uncle doesn't become the executor until given that power by the probate court. The court will decide what is official (or not) when this information is presented. Do you have a copy of the will? You do not want the will to "get lost". Get probate started and get this settled as soon as possible.

 

[sam02135]

The Uncle doesn't become the executor until given that power by the probate court. The court will decide what is official (or not) when this information is presented. Do you have a copy of the will? You do not want the will to "get lost". Get probate started and get this settled as soon as possible.

Curb is correct. Unless the will states the uncle is the executor, then he can't be unless the court states so. You as a heir should be the rightful executor. As for the house, who's name is on the title? If it is just your father's name, then the Will takes precedent UNLESS a contract has been created to establish that. Since your uncle says a video has been made to show where the house would go if your father dies, but the Will should supercede anything else. They are claiming an "Express Trust" of his estate. There are plenty of questions regarding the validity of the video as an "express contract". That you will have to ask a lawyer.

 

[latigo]

With all due respect, your post as written is incomprehensible.

I realize that these things are confusing to one not acquainted with probate law, but if you want “help” then you must provide more information. Starting by explaining this indefinite statement:

In the last will & testament it states a home was supposed to go to my father

Who was the maker/testator of the will that you claim gifted the home to your father?

You say that the uncle is the “executor of the estate”, but you fail to tell us who’s will and who’s estate. (Incidentally, uncle wouldn’t be the executor, he would be the “personal representative”.)

(Moreover, you don’t tell us whether the maker of the will is dead or alive. And if dead, whether or not the will has been submitted for probate, nor the status of any probate of the will.)

Assuming that your father was named as a beneficiary in some yet identified will, and the maker is now dead, did your father die before or after the death of the person that made the will?

If your father predeceased the maker of the will, does the will name an alternate beneficiary in the event that your father should predecease its maker? Is there any mention in the will as to how long your father must survive the maker before the gift of the home becomes fixed?

IMPORTANT! If your father predeceased the maker and there was no alternate devisee mentioned (such as the home should then pass to his heirs (you), then according to Washington law the gift lapsed and the home became part of the testator’s residual estate to be distributed as provided in the will, “but otherwise according to the laws of descent and distribution”. (RCW 11.12.120 Lapsed gift)

Whom, if anyone, is designated to receive distribution of the testator’s residual estate?

If the will you describe gifts the home to your father and he lived long enough to take the gift of the home, then the home became or would become part of his estate.

So, did father make a will, and if so, who are the beneficiaries of his will?