Help with will

[jetlag]

My aunt died a couple of years ago. She had no children of her own. She had said for years when she died her estate would be divided among her nieces and nephews. My sister says she was appointed executor of the estate. Upon her death my sister also announced that my aunt had changed the will and left everything to her. There are 6 other nieces and myself, nephew. We never believed the will was legal but didnt think a lot of money was involved. It has came to the surface now that the estate was over a million dollars. I called the probate court in my aunts county and found the will was not probated. We believe the second will never existed or was forged. What should we do first? Have we waited to long? I will have to look for the exact date of death. What is the statute of limitation on this?

 

[lwpat]

Was the estate ever probated? If so when? You are probably very close to the Statute of Limitations so you will need to act quickly.

 

[jetlag]

thanks Iwpat

Was the estate ever probated? If so when? You are probably very close to the Statute of Limitations so you will need to act quickly.

There is no record of a will or estate probated in the county her real property was in or the county where she died in nursing home. I found on line the obiturary date in local paper was 1/12/07 . I also found out from the county clerks office that to my surprise the title to property was transfered to my sister in 2002. Im thinking now that is what also happened to the C Ds in the bank so they could hide them from the medicade people before going into the nursing home. My sister also had a large estate sale recently and sold the antique furniture she had been hiding for several years. Is it illegal to take things from a will that is not probated? Im not sure if my sister was given power of attorney but she claims to be executor of the estate and had taken over the bank account while my aunt was in nursing home.

 

[lwpat]

If there was no probate, your sister was not appointed as the personal representative. Only the court can do that. You can go to the probate court and open probate yourself and request to be named the PR. Expect a big fight from your sister and trouble proving anything. Sounds like she had everything well planned.

 

[jetlag]

thanks Iwpat

If there was no probate, your sister was not appointed as the personal representative. Only the court can do that. You can go to the probate court and open probate yourself and request to be named the PR. Expect a big fight from your sister and trouble proving anything. Sounds like she had everything well planned.

I assumed my aunt appointed my sister as executor while she was still living. Are you saying it can not be done this way ? One things for sure nothing is probated at the court house. Should we demand to see a copy of the will my sister claims that left everything to her? What if she refuses ?

 

[jetlag]

thanks Iwpat

If there was no probate, your sister was not appointed as the personal representative. Only the court can do that. You can go to the probate court and open probate yourself and request to be named the PR. Expect a big fight from your sister and trouble proving anything. Sounds like she had everything well planned.

can i open probate myself if I dont have a copy of the will? Would you believe my sister says she cant remember the attorneys name ? What a joke, she better start remembering some things soon.

 

[lwpat]

Instead of keeping to post you need to go to the probate court and do what I advised. Take an original of the death certificate and your birth certificate.

 

[jetlag]

thanks Iwpat

Instead of keeping to post you need to go to the probate court and do what I advised. Take an original of the death certificate and your birth certificate.

sorry i didnt know it was a problem to keep posting.Im not familiar with the law on estates. You said I need to open probate myself and I was trying to find out if I can do that without the will. How can you probate a will if you dont have it ? Are you saying I can probate the estate , not the will ?

 

[lwpat]

The clerk at the court will explain the process but cannot give you any legal information. You do not need the will and you can ask to be named the personal representative. All interested parties will have to be noticed and I expect your sister will hit the roof.

If you are named the executor you can get copies of all the records including bank accounts, etc. You will also be responsible for seeing that any bills are paid out of any estate remaining. If your sister has taken all the money you are in for a long and expensive fight and will need an attorney.

 

[jetlag]

thanks Iwpat

The clerk at the court will explain the process but cannot give you any legal information. You do not need the will and you can ask to be named the personal representative. All interested parties will have to be noticed and I expect your sister will hit the roof.

If you are named the executor you can get copies of all the records including bank accounts, etc. You will also be responsible for seeing that any bills are paid out of any estate remaining. If your sister has taken all the money you are in for a long and expensive fight and will need an attorney.

Thanks again this info is very helpful and what I needed. I have a few more things I want to investigate before making that move but I dont think it will be long in coming. How is it possible to get an original death certificate like u stated earlier? I can pay to get a copy.