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This is happening to my grandmother. She passed away and we have found out that her home healthcare worker was in her will? My grandmother was of sound mind and would have definitely mentioned it to me since I'm in the will and close with her my question is, is that even legal? Since the worker was employed at the home care services? and only been around my grandmother for about a year.

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It’s legal. If your grandmother was of sound mind it was her choice. Did an attorney do the will?
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Geewiz1990 Feb 2021
Yes an attorney did the will and is the executor
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Yes it is legal. Being of sound mind she can give what she wants to who she wants.
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Legal, yes. Suspect? Yes, IMO.
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It legal but...does the aide work for an agency? If so, her employer may not allow it. Conflict of interest. Grandma could have been coerced. The beneficiaries have every right to contest it. It may hold up Probate and lawyer fees contesting it. So, u have to weigh if what she is receiving is worth the fight.
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Geewiz1990 Feb 2021
She did work for an agency and only worked with my grandmother for 6 months then was in her will and getting a 3rd of everything ,also a previous employee of this same company stole money from my grandmother as well ,all of us live states away and the lawyers were not very forth coming to us about anything ,honestly if she was in sound mind and wanted to because that lady took care of her fine no problem but just seems like red flags
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Legal? Maybe not, but I would not contact the agency directly myself. You need to read the agency contract that g'ma had with them, It may specifically address gifts. Usually the answer is no gifts because it lends itself to conflict of interest. If this is substantial amount of money, it is probably worth the cost to talk to another attorney about it.

It's also possible your g'ma was very appreciative of the care she received. Also positive she was not in 'sound mind' like you think. You weren't there. You have to physically participate in someone's life to know what's going on. People who can be taken advantage of, or memory issues/etc, can be very coherent when talking to outsiders while being mentally diminished with those around them all the time. You may never really know what her mental capacity was prior to her death simply because you were not there.

Did anyone else go into the home regularly (from the family)? If not, it would seem you may just have to go with the assumption that she was cared for well, got to stay in her home, and was happy via the care of outsiders.
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This is suspect.
And may be difficult in court.
The fact that your grandmother gave this caregiver 1/3 of the estate is odd. I could understand a token of appreciation but 1/3 seems to be strange.
the agency would have nothing to say about this (unless it has happened previously, you might want to ask about that.)
Before you contest the Will you might want to discuss it with the lawyer, the one that drew up the will, unless this was a written note/letter added later just to determine how or if your grandmother was influenced.
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Red flags that the same attorney created the will and is the executor! Get advice from an outside attorney. Naturally, this attorney is not going to question the will that HE created with your grandmother.
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Get a lawyer who knows elderly law
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I differ from a lot of the views here. It is indeed legal. And for an attorney to also be executor of a will is not unusual if the person has no family member they would rather have been the executor. Given that your Grandmother had a lot of aids and this one is the one she left money to, she must have felt that this person was both worthy, and perhaps in need. Feel free to get your own attorney, but I can't see a reason to tie up a will over this. She was of sound mind and able to leave her money to whomever she pleased. To be frank I cannot imagine an attorney willing to stake his license on splitting one third of the cash amount with an aid over this.
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Just a comment on Grandma54's observation of:

"...unless this was a written note/letter added later "  referring to addition of the caregiver.   Only a properly prepared and executed Codicil to a Will would be binding.  It would also specifically include statements referencing the original Will, and clearly stating that the Codicil modified the Will of _____ date.   That ties the two together.   

Also, as to SSAretired's comment:    An attorney who prepared a Will and is named as the Executor/trix is not unusual.    I saw that frequently in Wills prepared by firms for which I worked, and in fact sometimes the attorney was named as Executor/trix b/c the testator/trix lacked confidence in the family.   Another valid reason could be that there were complicated provisions and bequests in the Will that would challenge someone w/o legal experience.

I also suppose Alva's observations and conclusions.   

GeeWhiz, how often were you able to see or talk to your GM?
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I know a man that married his live in caregiver so she would inherit his entire estate. She was an excellent caregiver and he wanted to show his appreciation for her care.

He told his caregiver that he wanted absolutely nothing in return for his generosity.

The caregiver was not expected to move into his room after the marriage. She remained living in her private room.

You never know what people will decide to do with their money and estate.
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Very rare
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Please contact a lawyer who specializes in family law, or better yet - elder law, in the state where your grandmother resided. He/She will give you the best advice.
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Imho, yes, it is legal and valid since your grandmother was of sound mind.
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