She had mom sign it.She also told my mom that since she felt I would spend all my half that she would be in charge of doing out a little at a time if she felt I needed it.
Shelly, is your mother incapacitated? Unable to speak, unable to write? Your profile doesn't provide any background information to address the issue of whether or not your mother needed assistance of any kind with her will.
CWillie raises a good point about holographic wills, which are generally handwritten wills created by the testator or testatrix (person executing the will) and are valid under conditions specified by state law.
However, for a beneficiary to draft a will in which he or she benefits as an heir - that's seriously improper, and might even be illegal, beyond the issue of undue influence.
I also would ask how you found out about this, whether or not your mother has any cognitive problems, been diagnosed with dementia, and what the roles of you and your sister are in caring for your mother.
What would likely happen if this will isn't replaced by a properly drafted one, by an attorney, NOT by an heir, is that there would be a will contest (challenge) after death and the issue would be tied up in court with the heirs battling each other.
I'm curious if since FIL made the money for the family and my husband is the only living child between MIL & FIL the rest were from other marriages does hubby (mine) stand a better chance at any if not all inheritance? FIL had 4 kids from 1st marriage MIL had 1.. the one who ironically assumes she is entitled to everything and the rest can just well.. hang to put it politely
Shelly, did your sister actually write the Will herself or had an Attorney prepare the Will? If you sister wrote it herself, and she is not an Attorney, she needs to realize one misplaced word or one left out word can change the whole Will, and the Will needs to be written according to her Mom's State laws.
Was this Will witnessed? Did the Will have the required number of witnesses as required by State law? And who were these witnesses? The witnesses cannot be anyone who is named in the Will.
Did your Mom have a previous Will? If so, and you have a copy, hang onto it if later down the road the probate Court finds out the current Will is not acceptable.
You might want to check out the legal requirements for a holographic will where you live. We had a similar type of will presented to the lawyer after a relative died, someone else had written the bequests and there was a signature at the bottom. Aside from the doubts we all had that the signature was genuine, that it was not in the relative's own handwriting and the fact there were no witnesses meant it was not worth the paper it was written on.
Money and families--ugh, often a mess. Do talk to an attorney, there may be some real issues of bending the law here.
My son is an attorney (not in our state) and he called me a couple of weeks ago, freaking out that dad and I don't have a will. (We've had one for 15 years, thanks, son). He wants us to do things a certain way--and we have what we feel comfortable with. I told him exactly how the will is written and that he will receive his 1/5 of the estate. Also pointed out to him that he hasn't lived within 1000 miles of us in 13 years and that he is not involved in our day to day, and had no say in what we want. His 4 sisters have never said a word about the will. He is a great guy, but he'd drive his sisters insane. Right now everything is aboveboard and fine. He'd come into the picture and the sisters would never speak to him again.
In REALITY wills aren't ways to manipulate people and get "behaviors" from them you want. I have never seen an estate settled where everyone feels good about the end result. Somebody has done far more than somebody else, yet the "no-see-ums" seem to happily take their share and go back to wherever and never think about it again.
But, in your case, an hour of an estate planning attorney's time would be money well spent.
I just posted on your comment we too are going thru that problem. First of all its HER money not her children's and it's not up to ANYONE to tell her who to spend it or split it up. she can not make decisions on how you spend it where you spend it blah blah blah lol my SIL pulls the same nonsense and I guarantee my hubby will seek legal council to ensure it's all tied up and NO ONE will get a dime other than the lawyer lol
My SIL (sister in law) has also "bullied" MIL into giving her POA over EVERYTHING... house banking will health care although when she is needed to provide help to myself and my husband she's "too busy, has a life, she won't come to my house" She also, and we are checking into it, had a relative notarize everything to be given to HER although she has other brothers and sisters. I found with some searching that legal aid will provide help to those in need and those that can do so on their own should make sure it's up front and legal so down the road you are educated on what the laws are and where you stand !
You're facing a Goliath of a problem. Dealing with siblings, inheritance, signatures, mom..........huge burden. Yes, seek legal advice ASAP. My best regards and wishes to you! M88
Sounds like that will would be very vulnerable to "undue influence" claims when it comes time to execute it.
Does your mother have impairments? How old is she? Who is her POA for financial and medical issues?
Does she have a lot of assets to distribute? In many cases it just isn't worth worrying about who inherits how much, because all funds will be gone by the end. Is Mom in a care situation now?
CWillie raises a good point about holographic wills, which are generally handwritten wills created by the testator or testatrix (person executing the will) and are valid under conditions specified by state law.
However, for a beneficiary to draft a will in which he or she benefits as an heir - that's seriously improper, and might even be illegal, beyond the issue of undue influence.
I also would ask how you found out about this, whether or not your mother has any cognitive problems, been diagnosed with dementia, and what the roles of you and your sister are in caring for your mother.
What would likely happen if this will isn't replaced by a properly drafted one, by an attorney, NOT by an heir, is that there would be a will contest (challenge) after death and the issue would be tied up in court with the heirs battling each other.
Was this Will witnessed? Did the Will have the required number of witnesses as required by State law? And who were these witnesses? The witnesses cannot be anyone who is named in the Will.
Did your Mom have a previous Will? If so, and you have a copy, hang onto it if later down the road the probate Court finds out the current Will is not acceptable.
Do talk to an attorney, there may be some real issues of bending the law here.
My son is an attorney (not in our state) and he called me a couple of weeks ago, freaking out that dad and I don't have a will. (We've had one for 15 years, thanks, son). He wants us to do things a certain way--and we have what we feel comfortable with. I told him exactly how the will is written and that he will receive his 1/5 of the estate. Also pointed out to him that he hasn't lived within 1000 miles of us in 13 years and that he is not involved in our day to day, and had no say in what we want. His 4 sisters have never said a word about the will. He is a great guy, but he'd drive his sisters insane. Right now everything is aboveboard and fine. He'd come into the picture and the sisters would never speak to him again.
In REALITY wills aren't ways to manipulate people and get "behaviors" from them you want. I have never seen an estate settled where everyone feels good about the end result. Somebody has done far more than somebody else, yet the "no-see-ums" seem to happily take their share and go back to wherever and never think about it again.
But, in your case, an hour of an estate planning attorney's time would be money well spent.
My best regards and wishes to you!
M88
Does your mother have impairments? How old is she? Who is her POA for financial and medical issues?
Does she have a lot of assets to distribute? In many cases it just isn't worth worrying about who inherits how much, because all funds will be gone by the end. Is Mom in a care situation now?