Legal Advice Please

[ILMICKEY]

When my grandmother passed away 2 years ago, she was only survived by one son. My grandfather, mother and another uncle preceeded her in death.

My sister and I always thought maybe we were entitled to our mothers portion of the estate but since we were never contacted by an attorney, we just figured we were not.

My aunt (not blood) stopped by my house one evening to ask for mine and my sisters contact information because they had sold the house and we might be entitled to a "little" money. I gave it to her and she left.

My sister contacted the family attorney and was told we were in fact to receive my mother's portion. He told her to list her questions and send them to him. This was a couple weeks ago and he still has yet to answer them.

There were many many antiques, antique cars and land that went with the home that he has rented out since my grandmothers passing. My mother was also on her 2nd marriage and we were told he would be part of the estate as well, which we found horrifying as he was a monster.

I guess my question is...does this all jive? It doesn't make a bit of sense to me that we were never told any of this. Isn't there a reading of the will or is that just what we see on TV? My sister and I are pretty hurt our uncle is being this shady as our mother was all we had and he knew it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Alsobrook]

If there's a will, it has to be probated. If not, the estate has to be probated. Start with the Probate Court. Call them. Typically they are helpful, but cannot give legal advice.

Step 2. Contact a probate attorney.

There's no legitimate way to ascertain whether " all this jives."

A non-legal answer to your question is a common sense answer. No it doesn't.

Call a lawyer.

 

[Janepod]

Someone needs to get a copy of the will and the estate settlement. Presumably, now that it's been two years, tax returns have been filed.

 

[momof1princess]

if someone has filed to probate the estate, will or not, there will be documents on file with the probate court, and those are public record. please, OP, get a copy of whatever has been filed ASAP. this will tell you what the REAL story is, and, from there, i would suggest contacting an attorney-many will do a free consultation, and tell you what you can expect, financially. then, you'll know if it's worth retaining the attorney to protect your interests.

 

[chamonix]

A will is a public record, and once filed with the Probate Court you can get a copy of it from the county courthouse for a small fee. (After 2 years, it will definitely have been filed, unless they are doing something shady and illegal) in Illinois, I think they have 30-60 days to file it, something like that.

Call the county courthouse first for info, or just go there. I think in Illinois it cost me less than $10 for the copy of my mother's will. You will need your grandmother's full legal name, and address so you know what county courthouse to go to. It literally took 5 minutes to pick it up (I had called ahead of time, so they had it ready).

You can also search the Probate court records to see if it was ever on the court docket. Be prepared to get legal representation after reading it, it sounds like they have been hiding something from you...why else would they have not shared it with you before this? Don't feel uncomfortable about going to the courthouse for the copy of the will. It is done every day, and they won't bat an eyelash at your request.

Edited to add: do not wait, do not hesitate...go tomorrow or as soon as possible. 2 years is a long time to wait, and you were probably entitled to money or property before this time (it sounds like).

 

[chamonix]

One more thing: if the house has recently sold, you can also find out how much it was sold for (in some states, anyway, not sure about all...you can probably search for it online, especially if they had it listed for sale with a realtor).

Anyway, once you know from the will what percentage you were to receive, you can check that against the purchase price. At this stage, most bills should have already been paid from the estate (there's usually a legal time limit on that too I think) Besides any mortgage, the rest you will be able to figure out with simple math what you are due to receive from the sale of the house.

 

[manning]

Read this. It will explain why you inherit your mother's share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_stirpes

 

[Alsobrook]

Read this. It will explain why you inherit your mother's share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_stirpes

No offense to the poster who posted this, but hogwash, don't read that....go to the probate court and find out the facts and then consult an attorney.

Nobody should be suggesting that you were likely entitled to more, blah blah blah.... you needs facts, an attorney, and then you'll be fully informed.

The trouble with wikipedia articles is that they can explain the basic principles, but none of that matters unless you have the facts.

And you don't have them.

 

[manning]

If you find you were cheated there may be criminal charges involved.

If so there could be a "let's make a deal" situation. Give my share or face indictment.

Have a relative that had a situation like this. He caught a cousin playing with an their aunt's estate.

Somehow his father's family buried his father and brother in the family plot Nd would allow his mother to be buried with them. Thus his mother was buried somewhere else and would not allow his father and brother to be moved next to her.

Then came the let's "let's make a deal" allow them to be moved and he would give up claim to his share of assets and not press charges. The cousin did not hesitate. A deal was made.

In short, they may want to give up the money rather than go to jail.

Th

 

[chamonix]

Read this. It will explain why you inherit your mother's share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_stirpes

Just so it's clear to the OP, your grandmother could have written a will that says anything, in which case per stirpes wouldn't apply. She could have written a will that says her husband gets 50%, her son gets 40% and you and your sister each get 5%. She doesn't need to stipulate anything for her deceased daughter, or her heirs. She could leave it all to charity. Her will could say anything. You won't know until you see it. If she died without a will, that is different though. But just because you are a descendant (potentially reeceiving your mother's share) that doesn't mean your grandmother actually left your mother (or you) a share.

 

[canopynut66]

You need to contact the attorney handling the estate and if he/she tells you have to get your own attorney then you will know. as if there was a will you should have had a copy of that after it was written before the death. when my Mother died there was a will so it had to go thru the court but then direct to us. when I had will done I had to mention anyone who would collect anything and had to "mention" ones who were not to receive a thing. so they could not come back later and try to sue the estate. That was to be sure the court would know I had not "forgotten" that person. Indiana used to have old law had to leave a $1.00 to a person who you did not want to collect on estate but now is you have to "mention" the name of person and all is fine. Then once that entered in court records all involved received a sealed copy that is only to be opened by attorney after my death. whoever opens that seal is voided off that will.

 

[Rylee]

How long has your mother been deceased?
Is it possible that your Grandmother had her will rewritten after your mother's passing and didn't include you and your sister?
Did your deceased Uncle also have children?

Definitely worth looking into, however, I would think if you and your sister, or your mother, (and you were entitled to her share) were included in her will, you would have been receiving copies of her attorney's correspondences... his fees, filing fees, appraisal values of house, land, household contents, your Grandmother's debts, etc.

 

[ILMICKEY]

First of all I would like to thank everyone for their responses. It has given me a lot to think about.

My sister contacted the probate court office today. There is no will on record. The lady discreetly said we may need to contact an attorney. So that's the plan.

My mother has been gone for 7 years. I know there wasn't a change to the will because my grandmother suffered from severe dementia and was definitely not of sound mind.

The reason this whole thing even came to light is because my uncle had rented out my grandmothers house after she passed to his grandson (my cousin) and he wants to buy it. We were told by the attorney that the check for the house was sitting at his office.

Now we are kind of wondering if there was an appraisal, how much it was sold for, and basically WHAT THE HECK!!! What happens if he basically gave him the house?

We have not found out, not for lack of trying, whether this attorney is the attorney for the estate, or my uncles personal attorney, but he is acting like he is personal. This leaves us to wonder if the attorney isn't also being shady. Doesn't he have the best interest of all parties? Or isn't he supposed to? You would think that after we told him we were seeking our own counsel, he would maybe come clean. Or maybe he is in too deep himself.

WOW! What a mess huh? It saddens me that after all this we will be missing even more family members.

 

[ilovemk76]

When my grandmother passed away 2 years ago, she was only survived by one son. My grandfather, mother and another uncle preceeded her in death.

My sister and I always thought maybe we were entitled to our mothers portion of the estate but since we were never contacted by an attorney, we just figured we were not.

My aunt (not blood) stopped by my house one evening to ask for mine and my sisters contact information because they had sold the house and we might be entitled to a "little" money. I gave it to her and she left.

My sister contacted the family attorney and was told we were in fact to receive my mother's portion. He told her to list her questions and send them to him. This was a couple weeks ago and he still has yet to answer them.

There were many many antiques, antique cars and land that went with the home that he has rented out since my grandmothers passing. My mother was also on her 2nd marriage and we were told he would be part of the estate as well, which we found horrifying as he was a monster.

I guess my question is...does this all jive? It doesn't make a bit of sense to me that we were never told any of this. Isn't there a reading of the will or is that just what we see on TV? My sister and I are pretty hurt our uncle is being this shady as our mother was all we had and he knew it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

You need to see what the will states. If only the children are listed the will could state that only the surviving split the estate. In other cases the will could state that all living descendents of the child inherit in a certain way.

Readings of the will is a TV thing.

First of all I would like to thank everyone for their responses. It has given me a lot to think about.

My sister contacted the probate court office today. There is no will on record. The lady discreetly said we may need to contact an attorney. So that's the plan.

My mother has been gone for 7 years. I know there wasn't a change to the will because my grandmother suffered from severe dementia and was definitely not of sound mind.

The reason this whole thing even came to light is because my uncle had rented out my grandmothers house after she passed to his grandson (my cousin) and he wants to buy it. We were told by the attorney that the check for the house was sitting at his office.

Now we are kind of wondering if there was an appraisal, how much it was sold for, and basically WHAT THE HECK!!! What happens if he basically gave him the house?

We have not found out, not for lack of trying, whether this attorney is the attorney for the estate, or my uncles personal attorney, but he is acting like he is personal. This leaves us to wonder if the attorney isn't also being shady. Doesn't he have the best interest of all parties? Or isn't he supposed to? You would think that after we told him we were seeking our own counsel, he would maybe come clean. Or maybe he is in too deep himself.

WOW! What a mess huh? It saddens me that after all this we will be missing even more family members.

If there is no will then the state laws about inheritance will be used. In this case, there is a very small chance that you inherit anything. Most states leave the estate to living people in a particular order.

 

[ILMICKEY]

There is a will. As I stated, my aunt stopped by my home to get mine and my sisters information because we were entitled to a "little" money.

If she hadn't done this, we would have never known.

 

[Janepod]

You need to get your own lawyer and have him formally request a copy of the will, the estate tax returns, and any other financial statements related to probate. Good luck.

 

[ilovemk76]

There is a will. As I stated, my aunt stopped by my home to get mine and my sisters information because we were entitled to a "little" money.

If she hadn't done this, we would have never known.

You stated there is no will on record. Who has the will and is it legal? When you go to probate you are probating the will, if it exists, or using the state laws to decide who inherits.

 

[manning]

No offense to the poster who posted this, but hogwash, don't read that....go to the probate court and find out the facts and then consult an attorney.

Nobody should be suggesting that you were likely entitled to more, blah blah blah.... you needs facts, an attorney, and then you'll be fully informed.

The trouble with wikipedia articles is that they can explain the basic principles, but none of that matters unless you have the facts.

And you don't have them.

Granted I don't know much. The only experience I had was......inheriting my mother's share of my grandmothers estate thru....stireps.

That's how that hogwash worked for me.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Sounds as if your Uncle hasn't probated the Will at all. Not good. Contact a probate attorney immediately. You don't want to use the same attorney that is representing your uncle. If there is a will, as you say there is, and your uncle isn't probating it, that is a big red flag.

My mother passed 4 years ago without a will. We were able to skip probate because her estate wasn't worth the minimum amount, but it was a pain.

Best of luck and sorry for all your losses.

 

[mickeyboat]

I am the executor of my FIL's estate. I had to file an inventory of all of the assets in the estate which had to be consented to by the beneficiaries. I have to give a yearly accounting.

In order to sell the house I had to receive a license from the court and present it when I listed the house and at closing. I would not have the legal authority to sell it otherwise.

If I had to guess I would say that you will be hearing from someone soon of someone is trying to sell the house. It maybe because there is a will and you are a beneficiary somehow. It may be because there is no will but you are entitled to a portion if the estate by state law.

Good luck. I can't wait until this is all over. It is a long process.