Wills and probate

[Spotdog]

My mother died Sept. 1999, leaving me her sole beneficiary.
It was a small estate, and didn't need a personal representative, so Probate Court sent me a Small Estate Affidavit. In 1991, my mother deeded to my brother 135 acres of property in Georgia. My grandparents' personal property is in a house on these 135 acres deeded to my brother. My grandparents died in 1960 and 1962 intestate, but their personal things were never divided. My grandparents had 4 children - two are still living. My brother will not let anyone into the grandparents' old home to retrieve their furniture and belongings. Did these 2 living survivors "give up" their rights to their parents' things since 40 years have gone by? How do we get these things? The Probate Judge of the county said there was nothing she could do, and to get a lawyer. We cannot afford outlandish legal fees. What to do??

 

[ALawyer]

No one can afford "outlandish fees". But most lawyers charge suprisingly reasonable fees, and do not take cases on at all unless they think they can win them.

In some types of cases lawyers accept a contingency fee, and only get paiud out of the money they help you collect. In others they are willing to charge a reduced fee with a contingency bonus if and when they are successful.

Most lawyers listed on AttorneyPages.com charge nothing for an initial consultation. However, my guess is that the survivors will say that their siblings expressly waived and relinquished their rights to grandma's stuff 40 years ago, and unless the belongings and property are VERY valuable it won't get you anywhere to try to get it now.