Executor, Adminstrator and Grand Larcenist

[Humblepieinthesky9]

Jurisdiction

Alabama

I will do my best to constrain myself to only the facts. This is a tragic tale of how a knowledgeable predator and an ignorant, grieving family can have a terrible result. My Mom died in 2010. She and my Dad had executed a Joint Will or individual Wills several years earlier. For reasons that will soon be clear, my Dad never produced a will for her.

Dad remarried a few weeks after Mom died. His new wifey had a plan for us all. My parents had told us children on more than one occasion the terms of their will - upon the death of one of them, everything split 4 ways (a share for the surviving parent and a share for each of us three children - if they both died, the estate went 3 ways). Several months into his new marriage, Dad and new wife told us they were doing a new Will. They said it was written the same way as the previous Will my Dad had with my Mom. Then my Dad died a year later - 2014.

The new wifey pulls out the new Will. Dad left everything to her (over $2million). This Will was witnessed by two of her close friends, and had no notary seal stamp. Two of my siblings were intentionally "omitted" from the Will altogether. I didn't get anything Either, but was named as alternate executor, after the new wifey. After my Dad's funeral, she flew into action. Wanted to start selling vehicles and other valuables that were sentimental to us kids.

I will skip a lot of damning and tragic narrative here and keep on track.

My Mom was no career person. She just raised us Kids and worked part time. But two years before she died, she got a letter stating she had inherited a chunk of money. Dad never showed any interest in the inheritance and often said it had to be a scam. Mom signed the form and sent it in.

When Dad married the new wifey, he suddenly developed an interest - along with her - in getting Moms inheritance. When he died, a few months later, the new wifey (his executor and sole beneficiary) mentioned to me that she was working on getting our Moms money. Us kids despised her and were still seething. Yet we were ignorant of the law and had no money to pursue it ourselves, so we said OK. Little did we know that she had petitioned to be administrator of my Moms estate. We had no idea. She published the notice in a paper she knew none of us would see.

She received the funds from the inheritance approximately a year before she let us know she had them. In fact, we now know based on court documents, the probate judge became concerned and ordered a hearing. Then she flew into action. She sent out notice to creditors and created a "final settlement" for the estate. Remember my Dad's estate? She had left it open so she could claim the spousal allowance from my Moms estate thru his.

She was smart. She called us kids individually and said our Moms money was in and we had to sign a release to get our share. She made us sign the release before she sent us the settlement statement. She got 85 percent of my Moms estate between administrator commission, expenses, spousal allowance, etc. She left us with only a few thousand each.

I take full responsibility for being so ignorant of the law and the process. I now know I could have stopped her at multiple points in the process. What I need to know - because just about every law firm around here is affiliated with her attorneys and won't tell me anything other than I have no options - is this: Is there any way to appeal, challenge, or reopen the estates? Is there anything I can do to expose her for the larcenist she is? My siblings and I are devastated that we allowed this predator to do this. She finally closed the estates in March of of this year. She enriched herself thru deceit, concealment, and obvious fraud.
Can I file some kind of complaint or suit? Anything? Please...any advice is appreciated.

 

[army judge]

Regrettably some things end despite our wishes to the contrary.

You've been told the answers you don't wish to believe.

If there had been a way for you to undo what has been done, a lawyer would have agreed to becoming your lawyer.

Lawyers, as do the vast majority of the population operate a for profit enterprise.

The fact that you've been rebuffed should tell you there is no there there.

A child has no inherent right to an inheritance, unless the parent dies intestate.

Your parents both died with wills.

I suggest you abandon this troublesome series of events less they inhibit you from becoming the best you possible.

Don't cry or mope over what might have been, smile, pull up your knickers and make your own way in a very cruel, cold world.

Please accept my condolences upon the passing of your beloved mom and pop.

Not to minimize your circumstance, but I lost mother and father years ago.

I miss them dearly today.

I wish you all the best as you grieve and mourn the passing of your parents.

 

[zddoodah]

My Mom died in 2010. She and my Dad had executed a Joint Will or individual Wills several years earlier.

Which is it: a joint will or individual wills? What did the joint will or your mother's will say was to happen with her estate?

my Dad never produced a will for her.

Then how do you know one existed? Also, I assume this means your mother's estate was never probated.

The new wifey pulls out the new Will. Dad left everything to her (over $2million). This Will was witnessed by two of her close friends, and had no notary seal stamp.

A couple comments before we get too much further. First, wills don't need to be notarized. Second, your father was free to do as he pleased with his estate. He was also free to lie to you about the terms of his will.

After my Dad's funeral, she flew into action. Wanted to start selling vehicles and other valuables that were sentimental to us kids.

In other words: she liquidated assets that were left to her in the will.

What I need to know - because just about every law firm around here is affiliated with her attorneys and won't tell me anything other than I have no options - is this: Is there any way to appeal, challenge, or reopen the estates?

I admittedly skipped a few paragraphs of your post, but the things I picked up from your post are as follows:

1. Sometime prior to 2010, your mother may have stood to receive an inheritance from someone. She apparently did not ever receive anything during her lifetime.
2. Your mother died in 2010.
3. You have no knowledge of any actual will made by your mother (although you wrote that "She and [your] Dad had executed a Joint Will or individual Wills several years earlier," your post suggests you never actually saw any will and, therefore, have no actual knowledge that one ever existed).
4. Your mother's estate apparently was never probated, and it appears that your father received her entire estate.
5. Following your mother's death, your father executed a will that left his entire estate to his second wife.
6. Your father died in 2014.
7. It is unclear whether your father's estate was ever probated.
8. Sometime after your father died, your stepmother received the inheritance mentioned in item #1.

Recognizing that relevant facts are somewhat unclear, the conclusions I can draw from these facts are as follows:

1. If your mother died without a will, your father should have received the first $50,000 of her estate plus 1/2 of the balance, and the children should have shared the remainder.
2. After eight years, it is likely too late to do anything about this.
3. You're entitled to nothing from your father's estate.
4. Whether you theoretically have a claim for the inheritance money depends in large part on how long ago the events occurred and the wording of the release you signed.

just about every law firm around here is affiliated with her attorneys and won't tell me anything other than I have no options

Then you need to expand the geographic scope of your search for an attorney.

 

[adjusterjack]

we allowed this predator to do this.

There it is.

Sorry.