Wills & Probate

[naadbrhama]

My father passed away 4 months back. I don't know if he left a will. I and my brother are his only children. My mother passed away 2 years back. Now my brother sends me a photocopy of a diary entry 4 days before my father's death stating that he has left his entire property to my brother. There is no mention about me. My father died after open heart surgery and I could not see him brfore he could gain his senses after operation. I don't believe in what my brother is now saying. I stay in India. What is the recourse available to me as his only daugher? Are daughters excluded from fathers property?

 

[ALawyer]

I have no idea about the laws of India, but in the US the law does not distinguish between men and women in terms of inheritance rights.

All children inherit the proerty that was held in the name of the deceased equally, UNLESS there is a Will. If there is a VALID Will, then it goes to the beneficiaries named in the Will.

The Will first has to be filed in the Probate Court in the state and county where the US resident lived, notice has to be given to all heirs who would inherit if there was no Will, and only if no one objects to the Will does the judge admit it to probate.

Read the section in FreeAdvice.com about probate.

You may need a lawyer to represent your interests.

A mere entry in a diary MAY or MAY NOT be a valid Will, depending on the state your father lived in, but a lawyer would have to carefully review it in any event.



f he was a US resident and the proerty

 

[naadbrhama]

Thanks

Thanks for your quick response

Can you guide me where can I find more information on the issue of inheritance, laws in India before approaching a lawyer?