contested will never reached probate and the case was filed. Oldest daughter was deemed representative of the estate. This case has been going on for almost a year and the caregiver is still occupying the house. There are major concerns regarding him selling off property and assets. Reaching out for any legal actions we can take to protect whatever is left in the house.
my Mothers estate is set up so I wont have to file probate for her. I am on the bank account ti ensure that also does not go into probate.
she has an updated Will and I am DPOA.
I am curious as to why the immediate family was not in charge and keeping an eye on the parents? How did no one else know what was being done behind your backs?
if there was no Probate filed it may mean your parents had a trust which does take time to deal with or everything was left to someone besides you. It could also mean nothing was left at all.
has anyone checked to see if BIL is on the Deed of the home? If so, it is legally his
The “contested will never reached probate and the case was filed” does not make sense. A will - in my experience - has to be filed in probate court /PC by a person (or their attorney) who considers themselves to be with “standing” in order for the will to be evaluated as valid. A will does NOT stay floating about, has to be filed in PC to get determination done.
So, I bet, likely the caregiver, who is actually family as late fathers BiL/moms brother, filed that will in PC & it was contested by probate attorney representing you & your siblings. If determined invalid, if dad had no will, Dad died intestate so a lineal heirship usually is done. Lineal required to seek out heirs (all spouses, all kids even if dead) and also their wills/probate filings related to all spouses & all kids. Details interlocked & because of this takes time. It’s specialized probate work.
Sounds like BIL is legally long time resident of home owned by your parents. Until distribution of assets of Estate done, new ownership really isn’t established to have eviction easily done. BiL being in the home keeps property secured. BiL provides continuity of upkeep on property…. He can use that as why being there is a plus.
To add to murkiness on this, was probate done when mom died? Did mom leave assets to her brother? Did BiL move his own items into the place when he moved in years ago? If you were not really involved with your folks, you may have no idea whose stuff is whose.
In my not an attorney but have been an Executrix X 3 opinion, what is happening is this: probate court has placed Estate under Dependent Administration with eldest sibling as Administrator. Totally court supervised probate. This is all attorney work, and attorneys with litigation experience AND do lineal as well. $$$$. Sister as Administrator is point person for contact but has no authority to do independent actions; all require filing a request for an Order and until those lineals are established that ain’t happening imo unless something is of imminent threat. & even then all actions get reviewed. You need to let the attorneys do their job and pay legal fees and court costs to enable this. BiL has his own legal. Only person who should be dealing with any of this is Sister named Administrator through the attorney. Not you.
Could be unthreading of not 1 but 2 Estates…… your moms and her heirs (this can be challenged too) and after that is done, your dads and his heirs. FWIW Uncle can easily say only dealing with household items that he moved in with years ago; or his Sister gave him; or items belonging to their family. It could be argued that daughters estranged from the parents…. Family drama cuts both ways
A year in probate is nothing.
Probate can go on for years. Ultimately decisions will need to be made. Like Asset filings done & Claims done till not affordable* & that is usually when someone buys others out or house sold with agreed % to all interested parties after legal, Claims & real estate costs paid.
*if Dad died w/$, it’s paying Estate costs. If not, if whomever is paying, is filing Claims, y’all are going to have to settle those Claims to ever close out probate.
That you left out the caregiver living in the house after Dad died was in fact family, as to how you described this drama initially, is so not a good look for you. He was your fathers late wife’s brother. An Uncle. Dads BIL. Your moms bro resided in his Sisters home providing caregiving & companionship & continued even after his Sister died.
Please reread what Burnt Caregiver has posted. 100% spot on. That law enforcement hasn’t removed him is because he legally appears to have rights to be there.
There would not have had to be a Will probated for the mother if the property was done in survivorship deed to the father and vice versa. This is normally how married couples do property because it leaves out the need for probate and probate costs.
Right, wrong or indifferent, it seems to me that OP's parents wanted to stay in their own home, and by Uncle moving in with them they were able to achieve that goal. I don't think it's that far out of the realm of possibility that these parents, in turn, revised their will to ensure that Uncle wouldn't be out on the streets after they passed away. I can't say as I think this is nefarious on the Uncle's part, either. After all, we've seen instances here where caregiving children gave up hearth and home to move in with parents to give care to them as they aged, only to have the financial rug pulled out from under them once parents passed on and other siblings show up with their hands out, looking for their "share" of the estate. And I've seen people here comment on how unfair that is, and how the caregiving child who gave up so much should get the house as retroactive "payment". Why is this scenario any different from that? Because in this instance it's not a child doing the caregiving but instead a sibling? That shouldn't matter.
Just as children don't owe their parents caregiving, neither do parents owe their children an inheritance.
It's a moot point now, but the best course of action would've been to have filed for either guardianship/conservator for your parents. Judge would've then determined who would've been most appropriate to continue managing your parents care/estate. Just because their your parents doesn't automatically grant you the best person to continue with their care either. Sometimes when family matters are so contentious, judge rules none of you are fit and assigns 3rd party/fiduciary. You would've had a stronger case THEN had you kept records, not so much now because it's after the fact. Had you consulted with an elder law attorney who also specialized in litigation (not just estate planning without litigation), then you could've protected your parents and spared yourself from being disinherited.
I can't imagine anyone here knowing of any loopholes your attorney (if competent and well versed in these matters) hadn't already considered them.
If you feel your current attorney isn't transparent with you, or isn't handling this case accordingly, you do have a right to get a second opinion with another attorney. That might work in your favor rather than asking here since there are legal complexities we really couldn't advise on.
You're asking legal questions none of us are really capable of answering. Your attorney should've advised you or answered your question about BIL residing at the property. As Burnt already explained to you, if by now BIL has not been removed by law enforcement, he has a right to live there. Until/unless a court order has been issued otherwise for him to vacate the premises.
Just because someone has dementia, at the time your father signed everything over to BIL, doesn't mean your father was incapacitated either. He could've had dementia but still been independent with his ADLs. How can you prove he wasn't when it sounds like you were all cut off from contact? Going back in time to prove he was without his mental faculties falls on you now.
No bank is going to recognize you as a beneficiary, so I don't see how you can protect whatever assets you are concerned over. And if none of you had any legal authority to manage his assets, you can't cry foul to the bank either. Again, that's what you're paying the attorney to advise you!
LSS Sissy needs to use the $ to pay property taxes, property insurance, maintenance and repairs on the house, utilities and anything else needed to keep that property and any other Assets safe & secure. Unless some of these items and their costs are being covered by their Uncle who is continuing to be a full time resident in the property. But OP better realize that if Uncle does this, he can file these costs as his own Claim against the Estate.
If there is zero $, and Administrator Sissy is having to front these costs, and other Estate management costs, she too can file her own Claim against the Estate for her own outlays. So if Uncle and Administrator are fronting costs, They both can file Claims and get paid from the eventual closure of probate….. whether it’s the house gets sold or use it towards their “kitty” as they force a buy out.
Realistically, unless the place is worth significant value, 3-4 heirs after lineal work done and couple of years of probate and couple of years of maintaining an older home and it’s taxes without any exemptions, there may not be the pay-day you anticipated!
Otherwise, without probate, isn't is just another civil suit? I don't know, and hope you have an attorney for yourself.
Probate does take a very long time also.
It does seem strange that a will excluding beneficiaries has not entered probate. The will had to be authenticated, right?
If the inheriting caregiver is still living in the house and a sheriff has yet to throw them out, then they likely have a legitimate claim.
I was a caregiver for 25 years and have seen every kind of situation. In my experience when an estate gets left to a caregiver, it's usually because the person's family did squat for them and left every responsibility up to a caregiver.
I'm not saying this is the case with your parents, but did you have any "major concerns" when they were living and in the care of this person? Like you do now because they may try to sell off part of the property and assets?
Years ago I was one of three caregivers to the most beautiful and wonderful man ever. He died of AIDS. He was very wealthy and left his estate to his caregivers. His family who had disowned him because he was gay and who did absolutely nothing for him when he was sick were positively livid.
They tried hard to break his Will and lost. All they gained was a whole lot of very expensive lawyers bills that they had to pay for themselves.
Undue influence falls under elder abuse. Did anyone in the family take steps prior to this point to ensure elder was not under coercive control? Is that documented? Is the title is in the caregiver's name? Is there a current forensic investigation into the caregiver's finances? Where did this caregiver come from? an agency? private hire?
Unfortunately, these cases get dragged without quick, timely resolution. Your attorney should've advised you what this process entails. Plus attorney would be the right person to advise best course of action. They are privy to information about this case we wouldn't know or guess about unless you can share more? I'd like to help you more but there isn't much to go by with what you posted.
Yes the attorney is helping with all the necessary steps, I was just reaching out in the hopes anyone else may have been through a similar experience. There were a handful of occasions when my parents were hospitalized for falls and dehydration and we took steps with the hospital social workers to see what our options were because we were getting concerned for the level of care they were receiving. Both parents wanted to remain at home and refused private skilled nursing aides and rehab, continuously reverting back to that the brother-in-law could handle it. This happened many times. All the other details and happenings regarding POA designations and joint accounts etc. all came to light after my parents both passed. With a new will being presented to us by brother -in-law that all 3 daughters were disinherited. I know that this will be a very long haul but as the case continues more and more suspicious activity is being discovered. I was just taking a chance to see if anyone knew of any loopholes or temporary protections methods we could put into place in the meantime due to brother-in-law having unlimited access to entire estate while this all gets worked out.
thank you for your interest
Wondering if anyone noticed the undue influence and selling off property and assets during parent's lives?
Are you a part of the family that could have inherited?
Was there a POA involved prior to death?
So sorry for your loss, and now a lawsuit.
Can you tell us more?
What does she say?
I did all of the preliminary legal work myself so I know what it entails.