Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arkansas

can i be taken out of the will

to whom it may concern,

Recently my grandmother passed away. she only left a holographic will which stated that i was to recieve a childs part of the inheritance. now a couple of her biological children are tryin to force me out of recieving anything. my real father was one of her sons and she adopted me before i was a year old. my question is can they force me out when it was plainly written that it was what she wanted? any help or advice you could provide me would be greatly appreciated! thank you very much.

rayelina


Asked on 7/12/04, 11:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Harvey Harris Harris Law Firm

Re: can i be taken out of the will

If the holographic will is valid, it determines what everyone gets. The children can't change your grandmother's will. The only exception is that, in AR, if she did not specifically mention any of her children, they can petition to get a share of the estate. The amount would be decided by how much they would have gotten had she passed without a will.

But, they cannot take away all that your grandmother left you.

You say that your grandmother adopted you. Are your parents deceased or did they give up their rights to you? If so, then you may also inherit from your grandmother at the same rate as any biological children she had.

There are several questions I would need to ask to see exactly what your share of the estate should be. There are different possibilities of what the outcome could be.

Have the courts ruled on the holographic will? How many children did she have (including biological and adopted)? Where was she living at the time of her death? Is the estate being probated?

I would be glad to try to help, but I need more information to be able to give any definite answers.

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Answered on 7/13/04, 10:00 am


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