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She passed away this Summer. The will was made 30 odd years ago. I was with her in the lawyer's office, when she had it made. She made specific exclusions, which she wanted in her will.

I gave her copy of the will to the lawyer representing her estate, as the Executrix of the will, declined to carry it out.

The copy of the will is unsigned The estate lawyer has been appointed administer of her estate at a Probate Hearing, said she has nothing to work with, without a signature.

The lawyer my mother hired to draw up the will, who has the original, has retired and gone missing in action, along with the witness to the will. (The Probate Judge is aware of this and last heard he was in Central America. The judge said he was last seen at a local coffee shop.

The usual avenues of finding his records, have met a dead end, including The Supreme Court, State Bar Association and local Probate Clerk's Office. He is pretty much off the grid.

The Judge will rule on the will, in about a month. I was my mother's caretaker. I don't have money for a lawyer. My sister hired her.

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Without a signed original, or even a copy of a signed original, there essentially is no will. As such, her estate will be administered under your state's intestacy statute.
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Wow, what a cluster! Wonder if your State Attorney General's office would at least have some advice? I know how hard it is to watch others disrespect the final wishes of someone you loved. Especially when you know disrespectful parties didn't care about them in life, either. I would think you have a valid point that since there WAS a will though, even though you can't come up with a signed copy, you have some record of 2 prior attempts to prevent the estate from being generically divided like that. So sorry, hang in there.
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Agreed, it's worth contact your state's Attorney General. They perk up their ears when lawyers behave badly (like abandoning a law practice without properly distributing the important documents in your care).

In this day and age, I can't believe this guy is truly off the grid. Have you contacted his family members, neighbors, friends and former colleagues? Someone knows where he is or, even better, what happened to all the documents from his practice. A few hours with the internet and a telephone ought to yield something.
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Find the signed copy of the Will. Often they are filed with the county clerk. When attorneys retire, their records are filed with the state, or stay with a partner in the same firm. Start digging.
vja, there are not automatic answers. For example, here in NY, if my father dies without a will, his wife only gets 2/3 and the other 1/3 would go to his children. It can get ugly.
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Pullupyourpants, You've looked under every rock, but without a signed will, it's not GOING intestate. It IS intestate. Meaning, without a will. Sorry. You did a good thing making sure that the judge knows the whole story, as his/her opinion will matter to the extent he has any freedom under the law.
Patathomeo, why is a family member pushing for the parish church donation, or is that person just worried, as you are? Anyway, you're doing the right thing coming up with whatever copies of the amendment you can find and having a lawyer go over it all. It's going to depend on how the will was written, the state laws, and the form of your co-ownership of the condo. (For example, in some states if you were co-owners "in the entirety" your mother's half goes to you as the surviving owner independent of the will. In that case, if the condo goes to you and there isn't enough cash for the donation, the donation just won't happen and it's not your responsibility and how much or how little money you have is irrelevant.) You'll know for sure in a few days; hang in there.
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I am sorry for your loss, that the copy of your mother's will is unsigned, and that the lawyer who drew up the original is not able to be found. That really stinks, but legally there is nothing to work with. I hope the Judge rules well.
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I would think that her assets would go to her next of kin. If I goes to court, there should be people who know what she wanted.
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My 95-year-old mother passed away 4 weeks ago, but she left no assets other than our CA condo to me (I had owned 50% before she died) because all her savings were used up to pay for her care; OR Medicaid paid for her required
care that what Social Security could not cover for 12 months. Mom lived in OR State assisted living for just over one year. In CA, she had set up a 2008 trust and will that originally had included that $5,000 was to be donated to her former parish church. In 2011, she had done a First Admendment to reduce or revoke that part of her will. But on November 23rd, 3 days after she died, I received a call from a family member that the OR trust and will did not appear to include the 2011 First Admendment, and I would owe the $5,000 donation out of my funds that Mom's estate cannot pay. Unfortunately, I have been unemployed for nearly three years and cannot afford to pay this out of my own pocket. I contacted our local CA attorney to explain, and told him about the 2011 CA amendment. In November 2014, I have located a copy of its cover letter showing the paid fee; a copy was sent to my executor family member in OR. He will meet with Mom's OR attorney on December 29th to go over the entire final will and trust. Since I cannot afford to pay out anything without having to sell my condo and relocate, I hope I do not "owe" anything that Mom's will should be covered. My family is going have to cover these costs for me. Also note that I am on Medi-Cal for my health coverage because I have no income from my long term unemployment situation. Will I really owe anything that Mom's estate has no funds to carry? I hope not.
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If you haven't already done so, be sure to check with the county recorder's office to see, if by chance, it might ever have been recorded.
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