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My father passed away last year and I am curious about his will. I have never seen it, my step-mother gave me some of his knives and a couple of guns that he had written down on a piece of paper labeled "Personal Possessions" (or something like that) and had me sign off on it. I know that he had been investing heavily in mutual funds for over 20 years, but I've never made inheriting money part of my budgeting process Wink

I haven't really thought about the lack of an inheritance too much until recently my wife discovered that she has probably been cheated out of an inheritance herself under similar circumstances (both her grandmother and my father suffered from dementia during their last couple of years). Now before I go off the handle making accusations, I would like to know how hard is it for me to get a copy of my Dad's will without my step-mother knowing about it. Can I just call the courthouse where the will was probated (it's out of state)? Also, if the will has been changed in the past few years since he was diagnosed with dementia, would both copies be on record? This is all probably unwarranted suspicion, but my wife's experience has got me wondering.
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As far as I know, even if your father died intestate, you would still have to go through probate court.

If there was no will, assuming you were an only child, you would be entitled (as far as I know) to one-half the estate.

I do know that you need a good attorney. PM me and I will give you the name of an excellent JD who specializes in family law.

Good luck!

PS. If a will was probated and there was any problem, the atty who represented your step-mom would have had you served to let you know when the probate hearing was. That, plus, it would have also been advertised three times in some local paper.
It sounds like you've got a handle on things but there are a few general guidelines to answer some of the questions here.
1. You generally won't be able to get previous wills from the courthouse. Most states don't allow you (or at least discourage you) from RECORDING a will while you're alive. People used to think it was a good idea in case their heirs couldn't find their will, etc. But recording it makes it a public record, searchable just like a deed or mortgage. I don't think AL will even allow a will to be recorded anymore.

2. As an heir at law (natural child), you should have been served notice that your step-mother had filed the will for probate. Anyone who would have standing to contest the will must receive notice of the proceedings.

3. There is absolutely NO right to an inheritance as a child of the decedent. You can disinherit your kids all day long. About the only requirement is that you acknowledge their existence in the will. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to leave them $1 or something like that. You can say, "I choose to leave John nothing." Or you can just omit any gift to John and it's not a problem. A SPOUSE is a different matter. I'm sure most states (if not all) have laws that prevent leaving at least some portion of the estate to the spouse. In fact, if there are no children that are not common to both spouses (i.e., no stepchildren), AL law would leave the entire estate to the spouse if there was no will. If the decedent tried to omit the spouse, he/she could contest the will and demand the spousal share.

4. Under AL law, as one of the aforementioned "non-common" children, you would be entitled to a portion of the estate. I'd have to look up the exact figures, but the spouse would get the first X thousand dollars of the estate, then X percent of the remainder. You would be entitled to a share as a natural child of the decedent.

5. It's not always necessary to probate a will, even if one exists. If everyone can agree on disposition, and nothing needs to have a title change, you may be able to avoid probate. Sometimes probate is required to allow creditors to make claims. In AL, the estate must remain open for at least 6 months for creditor claims. It may be open a lot longer, but that's a minimum.

6. If you doubt your dad's mental state at the time the will was made, you can contest and challenge his competence to make a will. There may also be a claim for undue influence.

DISCLAIMER: These statements are for general informational purposes and are based on AL law only. I am not providing legal advice, other than advising you to consult an attorney.
quote:
Originally posted by lawguy07:
It sounds like you've got a handle on things but there are a few general guidelines to answer some of the questions here.
1. You generally won't be able to get previous wills from the courthouse. Most states don't allow you (or at least discourage you) from RECORDING a will while you're alive. People used to think it was a good idea in case their heirs couldn't find their will, etc. But recording it makes it a public record, searchable just like a deed or mortgage. I don't think AL will even allow a will to be recorded anymore.

2. As an heir at law (natural child), you should have been served notice that your step-mother had filed the will for probate. Anyone who would have standing to contest the will must receive notice of the proceedings.

3. There is absolutely NO right to an inheritance as a child of the decedent. You can disinherit your kids all day long. About the only requirement is that you acknowledge their existence in the will. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to leave them $1 or something like that. You can say, "I choose to leave John nothing." Or you can just omit any gift to John and it's not a problem. A SPOUSE is a different matter. I'm sure most states (if not all) have laws that prevent leaving at least some portion of the estate to the spouse. In fact, if there are no children that are not common to both spouses (i.e., no stepchildren), AL law would leave the entire estate to the spouse if there was no will. If the decedent tried to omit the spouse, he/she could contest the will and demand the spousal share.

4. Under AL law, as one of the aforementioned "non-common" children, you would be entitled to a portion of the estate. I'd have to look up the exact figures, but the spouse would get the first X thousand dollars of the estate, then X percent of the remainder. You would be entitled to a share as a natural child of the decedent.

5. It's not always necessary to probate a will, even if one exists. If everyone can agree on disposition, and nothing needs to have a title change, you may be able to avoid probate. Sometimes probate is required to allow creditors to make claims. In AL, the estate must remain open for at least 6 months for creditor claims. It may be open a lot longer, but that's a minimum.

6. If you doubt your dad's mental state at the time the will was made, you can contest and challenge his competence to make a will. There may also be a claim for undue influence.

DISCLAIMER: These statements are for general informational purposes and are based on AL law only. I am not providing legal advice, other than advising you to consult an attorney.


Thanks for the info Lawguy! Everything that you posted seems logical and reasonable to me. I have not been served notice that she has filed the will for probate, maybe because I am in a different state? I live in Alabama, my step-mother lives in NC.

I'm not too worried about it. My Dad was never much of a father to me and my sister anyway (or grandfather to my kids). I have two grown children and I can count the number of times he saw them on both hands. So I don't have any difficulty imagining that he left everything to my step-mother. I guess it's nothing more than wishful thinking that perhaps he attempted to correct his mistakes in life with an acknowledgment in death. And in the end, even if he left me a fortune it wouldn't make things right in the past. Either way, the copy of the will should be here Friday or Saturday and I can at least see if his ridiculous dedication to his job paid off for somebody. He was only 59 when he died, so he didn't get to enjoy the retirement he worked all those years to ensure. Go figure.

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