Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm sure it's much too late. But on our county's website I see that THIRTY YEARS AGO there was a probate case for my father in law's estate. Now, he didn't have any money but his mother did, and I am thinking this is regarding his share of her estate. He predeceased her, so I think this must have been money that should have gone to his heirs.
What I THINK happened: My husband and all his siblings lived in this area but NONE of them were ever contacted about their grandmother's death or their father's part of her estate. Father in law had a sister. I suspect that she/her daughter posted a notice in the paper or whatever you have to do to "prove" that you tried to notify heirs, and none of my husband's siblings saw it, and the entire estate went to the aunt/cousin.
Grandmother had quite a bit of land in a high price area and that land was obviously sold to a developer, because houses were built on the land. The question is - who got the money from the sale of the land and was half of it supposed to go to my husband and his siblings?
Is it worth pursuing all these years later? And can we go the courthouse and ask to see the court records? I'm sure we can; it's public record. But I'm just wondering if there is anything that can be done now.
It depends on how the grandmother's will was written. In most cases wills are written that if a child dies before their parent the estate/money that they would have inherited would go to their children (ie. the grandchildren). But, some wills are written that if a child dies before their parent the estate/money would go only to the children that are living.
Also, wills that were written long ago may have been as carefully written as they are today. My parent's will was basically a few sentences long. And, it was perfectly valid 50 years after it was written.
There may have even been a situation where grandmother's will was written before all of her children were even born and was never updated.
While I certainly do not know what the rules are in your state, I can't imagine that it would be up to the person receiving the estate to look for heirs, the courts or attorneys would do that.
So, your husband's grandmother died thirty years ago and he is just finding out about it now? He must not have been very close to her. Or, he knew about it but was never curious about Grandma's land until now? That is pretty odd, too.
I suppose that it is possible that the aunt tried to cheat her nephew & other relatives out of their inheritance but it would of had to involve other people, like attorneys, judges and/or court officials, who were bribed or part of the conspiracy. And, doesn't that seem rather unlikely to you? But, strange things do sometimes happen.
Last edited by germaine2626; 10-03-2016 at 08:45 PM..
He was close to her; used to live with her. But due to a series of events (death of parents and sent to live with relatives on his mother's side of the family, grandmother very old and not able to reach out herself), he had lost contact with her and shortly after that she died (which he found out later). I think the aunt came to town and sort of took over things and was there until she died and the aunt died just a couple of years later. Next thing my husband knew, there were houses being built on grandmother's property. But he was young and didn't know what was going on; didn't know who to ask or where to look. He would never have thought to go to the courthouse. Court records have only been online for a few years, so there was no clue as to what was happening and felt helpless in any case and I think just thought even if she did do something to cheat him and his siblings out of their inheritance, there would be nothing he could do about it. His thought was maybe his aunt had had her mother rewrite the will. But then that doesn't explain his dad's probate case.
The grandmother's will wouldn't have been written before all her children were born. She was 90 years old when she died and acquired the property after her kids were grown and she had grandkids.
Estate fraud does happen, so there must be a way to do it. Can't they make a family member the trustee? I know a trustee is SUPPOSED to act ethically, but that doesn't always happen. So no, it doesn't seem unlikely to me at all.
I am not an attorney, just a layperson, but my first thought would be just to call the court house and talk to someone in the probate division. Most of those things are public records so he can request copies of the court documents related to his father's and his grandmother's wills. Be warned that they may charge a copying fee, possibly as much as $1 or so each page.
Or he could contact a local attorney and pay to have him/her investigate.
Depending on how much land is involved and the cost of living in the area the land could have been worth big, big bucks. I know someone who sold just four large lots, but in prime rural area and received over a half a million dollars for it. OTOH, a small amount of land in low COL area would be far, far, far less. But, of course, it is the principal of the thing. If the aunt did take advantage of Grandma and cheat other relatives.
Another thing to consider is if the aunt took care of her mother when she was old. Grandma may have changed her will and gave everything to her daughter because she could not pay her for caregiving.
Are there other cousins, perhaps who were older at the time, who may know the truth behind this? Or at least have more information. Maybe cousin Susie will say to your husband "You would be too young to remember this but Aunt Gloria, quit her job, moved her family back home and took care of Grandma fulltime for eight years so that Grandma would not have to go into a nursing home. It was really, really hard on Aunt Gloria & her family & Grandma could not pay her so Grandma changed her will so that her daughter/caregiver would inherit everything."
Or Cousin Susie may say "We always were wondering if something illegal happened but no one had the time, money or interest in really checking into it."
It might be interesting to go to the court and to read her will [if she even had one].
Estate fraud does happen. I have experienced this type of fraud myself. Family members are often the executor / trustee, however even among close siblings greed may set-in.
Whatever the executor says to the court might be believed by the court, without verifying with all heirs. I have seen it happen.
It would have been a short time that the aunt was around, a few months at the most, and probably not that long. She lived in another state with her husband. No other cousins because it was just her daughter and her brother's kids (my husband and his siblings).
The fact that there was even anything to probate in his dad's case makes me think that it was the dad's share of his mothers estate. And yes, it would have been big bucks. A lot of land in a wealthy county. I'm sure it would have been in the millions when sold.
It might be interesting to go to the court and to read her will [if she even had one].
Estate fraud does happen. I have experienced this type of fraud myself. Family members are often the executor / trustee, however even among close siblings greed may set-in.
Whatever the executor says to the court might be believed by the court, without verifying with all heirs. I have seen it happen.
Thanks for the response. I don't have much hope that anything can be done now, especially with the aunt now deceased, but still would like to know what happened.
"I'm sure it's much too late. But on our county's website I see that THIRTY YEARS AGO there was a probate case for my father in law's estate. Now, he didn't have any money but his mother did, and I am thinking this is regarding his share of her estate. He predeceased her, so I think this must have been money that should have gone to his heirs."
You are making a BUNCH of unwarranted assumptions. First, if there was a will, it supersedes the distribution of a person who dies intestate. Second, if the father in law predeceased his mother, her estate would NOT commonly flow to his offspring.
In Alabama, the only way that there would have been fraud would be if there had been a will that SPECIFICALLY named your father-in-law and siblings as inheritors AND there was money left in the estate after expenses were paid, such as hospital and doctor bills.
"I'm sure it's much too late. But on our county's website I see that THIRTY YEARS AGO there was a probate case for my father in law's estate. Now, he didn't have any money but his mother did, and I am thinking this is regarding his share of her estate. He predeceased her, so I think this must have been money that should have gone to his heirs."
You are making a BUNCH of unwarranted assumptions. First, if there was a will, it supersedes the distribution of a person who dies intestate. Second, if the father in law predeceased his mother, her estate would NOT commonly flow to his offspring.
In Alabama, the only way that there would have been fraud would be if there had been a will that SPECIFICALLY named your father-in-law and siblings as inheritors AND there was money left in the estate after expenses were paid, such as hospital and doctor bills.
Nope, the law that you quoted says the opposite. If grandma died without a will, her daughter and the children of her deceased son share the estate. That is what is common in most states.
"Grandchildren. Your grandchildren will receive a share only if their parent (your child) has died before you do"
Now, if Grandma had a will & left everything to her daughter then everyone else was out of luck, unless they could prove that Grandma was coerced or had dementia when she wrote the will. That would be pretty darn tough to prove 30 years later.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
