will question

[corgie85]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana/Illinois

I live in Illinois but the will is from Indiana. My mother died a short time ago and thru all this we weren't allowed to talk or see her. She was in her 90's. Both of my brother passed and when my step dad passed my sister soon after moved her to her residence where none of us were allowed to contact here. We went so far as to show up after a three and a half hour drive only to have them not answer the door.
All of my nephews,nieces and my children including myself weren't even told of her death. we found it in the paper one day before the funeral. We all showed up.
Now I know there was a large sum of money my mom had when my stepdad died and I called and got a copy of the will my mother made out. It gave all the jewelry,dishes household stuff and vehicles to my sister who is the executor. all other was to be split among we 4 surviving children. then it states "whether or not a deceased child leaves issue of him or her surviving me"
that I don't understand.

then how do I find out what money she had in investments, bank etc since it is supposed to be split? My sister has made it clear she will not include or even contact anyone since she hid the fact she died.

Is it possible she had power of attorney and moved the money? She did tell someone she recently bought a house in Florida. Can I get tax records of my mom to see if things are being hidden etc.

 

[anteater]

I called and got a copy of the will my mother made out.

Called whom? Any idea who has the original?

Has probate been opened?

then how do I find out what money she had in investments, bank etc since it is supposed to be split?... Can I get tax records of my mom to see if things are being hidden etc.

As it stands, you don't really have the authority to obtain any records. If probate has not been opened, I would suggest that you or one of the other siblings file to open probate and for appointment as the probate estate's administrator. The administrator is the one with the legal authority to access your mother's financial records.

Is it possible she had power of attorney and moved the money?

It is a possibility.

then it states "whether or not a deceased child leaves issue of him or her surviving me"
that I don't understand.

Attempting to interpret a phrase in isolation is not possible.

 

[tranquility]

While oddly worded, it means the surviving children get their share. If one of the children die before mom's death, even if that child had children, the share would not pass to them.

You need to check into the county courts where mom died to see if probate is opened. If it hasn't been, you can open it yourself and request to be executor. If it is opened, read the case file and see the inventory to know what the executor claimed was in the estate and what the will was. If you are listed in the will, you have a right to be notified by the executor within a certain amount of time. If you are not, it could be a fiduciary breach and you should see an attorney on how to deal with it.

You have no standing at this time to get any of mom's records unless you were the executor. Generally, a POA could not "move" money to benefit themselves. But, you would need actual information to prove anything. Get the court files first, then see an attorney if you are still suspicious.

 

[corgie85]

ok it has been to probate I assume since I called the court and the first time they were waiting for the judge to sign and couldn't divulge anything but said my sister had filed the will that day (july 29). He signed and the clerk sent me a copy of the will yesterday. My sister is the executor and it doesn't state any amount of money but only that it and any real estate would be shared equally among surviving children.
How long does she have to notify me if she even does.

Thanks so far at least some is clearing up

 

[anteater]

If the will was filed 7/29, it is a bit soon to expect much to be happening. I would say that the big question is whether the administration is to be unsupervised or supervised. Those terms relate to the amount of court involvement and oversight of the personal representative.

I suggest that you do a search on terms like: Indiana probate That should return enough hits that you can familiarize yourself with what happens during probate and what you can expect.

If you want to take the deep dive and venture into the Indiana probate code, here is a link:

http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title29/

 

[corgie85]

It states in the will no bond required of the ex ecutor and request the court having jurisdiction of estate to authorize unsupervised administration of the same

 

[curb1]

Sister could have easily manipulated any bank accounts so they would pass directly to her. This money will not show up in the probate process. The money would be hers if she did this legally. If she did this it could already be spent.

 

[corgie85]

thanks. I'll wait and see if anything happens but doubt there is anything

 

[corgie85]

this has been re opened due to a mistake by the executor

I live in Illinois but the will was in Indiana. mother died over a year ago and the will divided the money up evenly among surviving children and my sister was executor. originally there was supposedly only around $50000 to be split. it only took a couple of months to move it and take care of it. I knew there was more but not sure how to prove it then along comes a letter from a lawyer who said they missed on account that was $87000 and sent paperwork to open it up again last December and according to court records the judge prepared the final letter to the lawyer the first part of April. I have contacted him twice since then and he said they had to sign some paperwork and it was supposedly only a few weeks and would be taken care of. called middle of July and he said it should be taken care of by the first of August. Nothing., I did get a letter from him originally that I could change and get my own attorney but since they did the first part it should be ok. problem is I do not get along with my sister and it's odd that my mother lived with her 8 years to the age of 94 and she didn't know there was $87000 stock that paid dividends at her mail at the end of a lane. Can they drag this out for spite and can I contact the judge who this was assigned to.

 

[corgie85]

admin why couldn't I edit my last post from 8-12? I was directed to reopen and couldn't edit from there.