Grandfather's estate and long lost neice

[godsgrl4life]

What is the name of your state? Texas
Back in Oct of 2004, my grandfather passed away. At the time of his death, he resided in Arkansas. We know he had a will when he died but were only able to find a handwritten will. My grand father stated he wanted everything to go to his step-daughter and his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Back in 1990 my grandmother passed away and she left everything to my mother and to my grandfather to be split equally. Then, 14 years later my grand father dies. The attorney handling the estate posted an ad in several newspapers and after 6 months a woman has come forward claiming to be his long lost niece. This "neice" was not know to anyone in my family and was never mentioned by either of my grandparents. At the time of my grandfather's death, we made a search of his house and found every card, letter and photo I had sent him over the years. We found nothing from this neice or her parents. Obviously, she did not have a close relationship with my grandparents. I never even knew abouther until now. My question is does she have a right to my grandparents estate?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? Texas
Back in Oct of 2004, my grandfather passed away. At the time of his death, he resided in Arkansas. We know he had a will when he died but were only able to find a handwritten will. My grand father stated he wanted everything to go to his step-daughter and his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Back in 1990 my grandmother passed away and she left everything to my mother and to my grandfather to be split equally. Then, 14 years later my grand father dies. The attorney handling the estate posted an ad in several newspapers and after 6 months a woman has come forward claiming to be his long lost niece. This "neice" was not know to anyone in my family and was never mentioned by either of my grandparents. At the time of my grandfather's death, we made a search of his house and found every card, letter and photo I had sent him over the years. We found nothing from this neice or her parents. Obviously, she did not have a close relationship with my grandparents. I never even knew abouther until now. My question is does she have a right to my grandparents estate?

The answer to your question revolves around two issues:

1. is the will your grandfather wrote valid, and;

2. can the woman prove she is related?

If the will is not valid(and I would think not based on what you posted) then instestate succession laws for Arkansas decides who gets what?

If the woman can prove she is related then she does have a claim, albeit a small one.

 

[Dandy Don]

Were you expecting to find a typewritten or some other later version of the will? IF the handwritten will is signed, and witnessed by at least 2 people who are not also beneficiaries, then that will may be accepted as valid, but you need to take it to a probate attorney to have it evaluated to see if it would be accepted or not.

No matter what, the niece has no legal standing for any part of this estate. If she is not mentioned in the will she is automatically out, and if the estate is processed as intestate, she would still have no standing, since priority goes to the children and surviving spouse (if any) of the decedent. So you can relax and quit worrying.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[godsgrl4life]

Thanks for your reply. We were expecting to find a typed will. We were told by his employer that he did have a will. He had asked my grandfather once if he had one and my grandfather said he did. Unfortunately, we were unable to find it. We did find a handwritten will, but it was only signed by my grandfather. There were no witnesses. My question is do grand children have any inheritance rights? Since technically we are not related to our granfather by blood are we entitled to anything? What about step-children, do they have any rights?