Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

My mother passed away in 2001. She had a will and we suspect our younger brother destroyed it. We never confronted him or said a word about it because we knew that the way it was written was how it would be handled had there not been a will. I ended up being the executor of the estate (out of the 5 of us, the oldest sister was too distraught, older brother was going to jail to serve a 1+ sentence, younger brother (who we suspect stole the will, didn't want to tell anyone she died??, we suspect he wanted to cash her ss checks or medical whatever she was getting), younger brother too young. I got elected by process of elimination and handled it without charging the estate a cent. After the probate closed my (creepy) little brother said that everything was supposed to go to him. We split the $30K in cash 4 ways (older sister didn't want her share of anything), we agreed to keep the house for 5 years as an investment and let creepy brother and younger brother live there, which they did for 5 years rent free. After 5 years we sold the house that was worth $120K for $440K and split it 4 ways with everyone receiving equal shares to the penny. Shortly after that my estranged father calls me and acuses me of stealing creepy brothers house. My father just passed away and I'm just learning that me and my older sister have been put in and taken out of the will due to what creepy brother has told him which have been lies. Is there anything we can do about that? I can live with being left out of the will, but if I was removed because of something creepy brother did I don't want him benefiting off of it. I hope I don't sound greedy, I just want what is right. This creepy brother was at my dad's house within hours of his passing going through his things getting what he wanted and in the lawyers office the following day contesting the will. He's really something else.


Asked on 9/05/11, 12:14 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jennifer Rouse Meissner Joseph & Palley

I am sorry to hear about your father's passing. First, you should get a copy of the Will to verify that you have been disinherited and to have an attorney review it to make sure it is actually a valid Will. If you have been disinherited and it is a valid Will, then you should discuss with an attorney how to contest the Will (also after verifying if there is a no-contest clause) if you believe that your disinheritance was due to your brother unduly influencing your father to disinherit you. Part of this discussion will be looking at the assets of your father's estate compared to how much it will cost to contest. If the estate is small, then the cost of probate litigation may not be worth it.

Good luck.

Read more
Answered on 9/06/11, 9:24 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates questions and answers in California