is he pulling a scam

[mdbtt]

What is the name of your state? new york
i am being told by my step brother that my mother could not legally change her beneficary on her policy because she was on her death bed and if we probate my step fathers will he died 52 days later we would have to pay it back my mother was not declared incompentant she had lung cancer and that we would have to give back all her personal things so we should sign off
step dads will i have never heard of not being able to change your heir and the personal things were taken before his dad died they cant make us give that back can they any thoughts or comments would be welcome
thanks

 

[Cosmot0731]

I'm not clear on all of your questions, but most states allow you to change your beneficiary anytime you wish even on your deathbed as long as you have not been declared incompetent and/or on sedatives, etc. I believe as long as you have an indepedent witness (ie the doctor) and not a family member, spouse or friend and even have it notarized (although you shouldn't have to do that) then it should hold up in court. They just want to make sure she wasn't coerced at the last moment especially while she is emotionally short. I've heard of people changing on their deathbed because maybe they forgot to change it after a divorce or a previous death. So it should be ok. I'd call your life insurance agent to get advice as most companies have similar rules when it comes to things like that. Make sure your agent is in the same state, NY tends to do things differently when it comes to life insurance.

Hope this helps

 

[mdbtt]

my step brother is exc. of the estate and wants us to sign off will he is telling us we would have to give back all of my moms personal things and repay life insurance if we dont she changed it a couple of weeks before she died mom died oct step dad in dec the will states
estate to be split between all kids except the house which was left to his children hes saying he can take 15% for being exc. and the courts will take
about 40% he feels that all the money was his dads as mom only had a small
income and we should not have any
i feel they were married had joint accounts and it was both of thiers and we are entitled to our share of the estate

 

[Cosmot0731]

my step brother is exc. of the estate and wants us to sign off will he is telling us we would have to give back all of my moms personal things and repay life insurance if we dont she changed it a couple of weeks before she died mom died oct step dad in dec the will states
estate to be split between all kids except the house which was left to his children hes saying he can take 15% for being exc. and the courts will take
about 40% he feels that all the money was his dads as mom only had a small
income and we should not have any
i feel they were married had joint accounts and it was both of thiers and we are entitled to our share of the estate

Be careful. I'm not an estate attorney but I wouldn't sign off just yet. Your step bro can ask for fee in many states (not sure how much). In my opinion, if your mother had a will and it was valid and she had life insurance and it was changed while she was still mentally competent, then her will and her life insurance should be administered as she wanted. If they had a combined will then I'm not sure how the administration of the personal assets would be handled, but if Dad didn't change it before he died then it should be pretty straight forward.

Your Mom's life insurance should goto the benficiary she had listed. It shouldn't matter that your step brother thinks she had a smaller income and as such you shouldn't get the money, it's really not up to him to decide it was up to your mother.

I'd push this one and maybe get your own legal advice.

Good luck

 

[mdbtt]

thanks i did just that i have an appointment soon guess i just needed a little nudge i dont want to fight over this but it seems there is no other way as he has not even attempted to have will probated i guess this will force his hand thanks again

 

[Dandy Don]

Yes, it's a scam all right--trying to blackmail/guilt you all into doing something that you don't need to do.

Don't tell him that you know the following facts, but for your information, executor fee in New York is about 5%, and although there may be some probate costs, it won't add up to 40% of the estate value.

Never sign any document that you don't understand without first reviewing it with your attorney to get a complete understanding of the meaning of the document.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[mdbtt]

thanks don he is doing just that making me feel guilty and not entitled to anything i do have an appointment with a lawyer soon things have been left unsettled for much too long he should have had the will probated its been over a year thanks ever so much for your help

 

[mdbtt]

o boy here we go i went to a lawyer he in turn sent the exc. a letter stating that we were not signing off the will and wished him to proceed with the probate he called the lawyer and said we would have to pay back life insurance because we made our mom change it we intimidated her to do it
good lord my mom was dyeing that was the last thing on my mind what a jerk
i was also told that i could petition the court to have the copy of the will i have probated and that the court clerks would be very helpful well guess what i cant have the copy probated myself i would have to hire a lawyer to do it what if i had my moms will probated would it force my brother to probate his dads will i have access to moms original will mom died first his dad about 2 months later any help would be appreciated

 

[Dandy Don]

You need to hire your own attorney to get probate opened up and then judge can order the person to produce the will for probate.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])