Any Way To Find Documentation Of Mothers' Assets

[SOULFILLY]

My Mother Passed In May,2005 While In Assisted Living.prior To That She Resided With My Sister Who Also Lives In Md.my Sister And I Are The Only Beneficiaries. My Sister Had Total Control Over My Mothers' Money.i Was Never Kept Abreast Of Any Financial Decisions. After The Funeral, My Sister Handed Me A Check And Told Me There Might Be A Little More Due To Some Papers She Needed To Submit. My Mother ,at One Point Tried To Tell Me That She Thought Something Was Suspicious , But I Did Not Give It Much Credence As She Was In Early Stages Of Dementia And At Times She Would Misinterpret Harmless Statements. Also The Fact That I Reside Out Of State, I Could Only Go For Short Visits, So I Was Not There For The Day To Day Activity. To The Point,i Want To Know If There Is Anyway I Can Find Out What The Estate Consisted Of Without Confronting My Sister. What Exactly Gets Filed With The Registry Of Wills And Is That Public Record? I Also Considered The Irs, But They Will Only Send Copies Of Returns To The Address From Where They Were Filed. My Sisters, Of Course! I Know Even If She Agreed To Show Me The Info, It Would Be According To How She Wanted The Outcome To Look,but The Activity On The Accounts For The 2 Years Prior Is Where My Interest Lies.

 

[seniorjudge]

Go check with the probate court in the county where ma died and see if she had an estate opened.

 

[SOULFILLY]

Go check with the probate court in the county where ma died and see if she had an estate opened.

What exactly does having an estate opened mean?

 

[SOULFILLY]

I checked with both the county where my mom passed and where my sister lives and neither has record of her will being filed which is state law

 

[seniorjudge]

I checked with both the county where my mom passed and where my sister lives and neither has record of her will being filed which is state law

That means no estate was opened.

 

[SOULFILLY]

That means no estate was opened.

So basically the result of the will not being filed with the Registry means the estate was never opened.....therefore the required forms such as an inventory or a list of assets in the estate does not exist. In other words , no paper trail for me to view. Is this a correct evaluation on my part? Thank you for taking the time to respond!

 

[seniorjudge]

You are correct; no paper trail.

BUT you could check in the county land deed records and the county tax collectors office to see if there were any transfers of property.

 

[SOULFILLY]

You are correct; no paper trail.

BUT you could check in the county land deed records and the county tax collectors office to see if there were any transfers of property.

In 2002 my mom moved from Florida, where she lived alone, and moved to Md. to live with my sister. At that time the house in Florida was sold. That was the only real estate.

 

[seniorjudge]

In 2002 my mom moved from Florida, where she lived alone, and moved to Md. to live with my sister. At that time the house in Florida was sold. That was the only real estate.

So basically your mom had nothing when she moved to Maryland, correct?

 

[SOULFILLY]

So basically your mom had nothing when she moved to Maryland, correct?

She had a money market account with Merrill Lynch set up by my nephew , a checking account at the same bank as my sister, transferred from Florida, CD's which I recall my sister saying that she would probably have a hard time getting my mom to sign forms so that they would not roll over again. That was five months before she passed. They were in the range of 30k, 10k, and 10k. The money from house (approx. 150K) was to be put in MMaccount. My mother was getting my fathers gov't pension plus her own. She also had a diamond ring which my sister told me if I wanted it, I would have to give her 4000 because she said she found the original receipt for it. All of the above plus many other little bits and pieces just don't add up. When my mom would start bad mouthing my sister to me ,I would get upset with her , reminding her how my sister put her life on hold for 3 yrs. when she lived with her and took very good care of her . I did not have the same resources or financial stability to take her in, so I was always thankful for my sister and I would constantly scold my mom for her accusations of deceit. She would always finalize our talks with "You'll see in the end that I was right when you dont get your share"