Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

Re: refusal to give me inheratance

You have two different cases to bring. You go to the court with jurisdiction over your divorce or custody of the children and seek custody and/or visitation. With regard to the inheritance questions, you go to the probate division of the superior court and make you complaint against your brother, the personal representative of the estate. Do not hesitate to take legal action right away.

Re: refusal to give me inheratance

Arizona law requires the custodian of a will to produce it to the next of kin and beneficiaries. If no probate has been filed you can file a petition to have the court appoint a personal representative (executor). I suggest you send a proper certified letter to your brother requesting a copy of the will and an accounting of what was done with the estate to date. When you do not receive a response, this will give you a better basis to show that he has not fulfilled his duty under the law.

In cases like this we typically find that the estate was small, under $50,000.00, and that assets like bank accounts or stocks were held in joint tenancy or "P.O.D." status, and went to someone directly, not under the will, so you might not have been the beneficiary of those assets, particularly if the deceased person did not do estate planning with an attorney. So send that letter to your brother.