Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Tangled family will question

My father died in December and when we went to retrieve his will, the file drawer was empty. We have reason to believe that his estranged wife- separated since 11/96- petition for divorce filed 10/97- not finalized took the will at some point in time when she had access. We have computer generated drafts of the will on his computers, backed up on disk, and e-mailed versions with relatives. The docs are time stamped and dated by the software showing when they were created. Can this type of will stand up in court? The 5 children and sister of the deceased support and believe in the validity of the computer will as stating the deceased wishes and will abide by them. The estranged wife has been positioning herself to maximize her power prior to dad's death. Now she has contested insurance payments to his beneficiaries, limiting our financial ability to stand up to her in court. Please help!!


Asked on 1/30/00, 7:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Hayes The John Hayes Law Offices

Re: Tangled family will question

If you do not have a will that is signed by your father than the computer will might not stand up in court because it can be argued that the will was typed up by somebody else. If the ex-wife is not stated as beneficiary why is she able to stop the insurance money? I need more information in order to access the case and give you sound legal advice. If you would like to speak with me, my office can be reached toll free at 877-546-9918. The consultation is free and I can try and figure our your best course of action against this woman.

John Hayes, Esq.

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Answered on 1/31/00, 10:12 pm


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