Legal Question in Family Law in Alabama
Please Help!
My grandmother passed in 1998. She left behind two daughters, one is my mother, and a her husband. There is no documentation saying what is whos (she didn't have a will). My aunt wants my grandmothers expensive china to sell and says it is hers since she has been carrying it around since 1998. My mother wants the china to keep. My grandad says it is his since my grandmother had passed and told my aunt she can have it all. Is this true since there is no documentation? My grandmother wanted her 2 daughters to split this china. Can it be anyones, or is there a certain person that gets her things after she has passed?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Please Help!
She died 9 years ago and this fuss is still going on? There's a host of equitable defenses that could be asserted: laches and equitable estoppel come to mind.
The granddad could certainly claim that the dishes were his. Were they used for the benefit of the marriage? If so, they are probably marital property and would belong to him anyway.
Assuming that there are no defenses, then the surviving spouse in a case where there is no will but there are children belonging to both parties, gets the first $50,000.00 in value of the estate, plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.
So, if your grandparents estate is worth $50,000 or less, then the granddad inherited the plates outright, if he didn't already own them. He can give them to whomever he wants, and it appears that he has made his choice in your aunt.
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