Legal Question in Elder Law in Florida

Was a will filed?

Both my father (when he was living) and his wife indicated to me (verbally, and on separate occasions) that they had created a will and that her Nephew was named as executor. At the time they lived both in Florida and NY.

After his death, his wife returned to NY. I asked the nephew for a copy of the will and was told that there had been no will and that upon her return to NY, he had one created.

Is there a way to locate the original will which would have been created in either of the two states.


Asked on 6/08/09, 4:03 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Charles Gallagher Gallagher & Associates Law Firm, P.A.

Re: Was a will filed?

You can run an ad in various publications seeking whether any attorney has a will for your father.

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Answered on 6/08/09, 4:10 pm
Richard Bryan Richard Bryan Attorney PC

Re: Was a will filed?

That's a tough one. I assume you've already asked dad's wife, who is still alive, and she was unhelpful.

I am confused a bit with your sentence: "I asked the nephew for a copy of the will and was told that there had been no will and that upon her return to NY, he had one created." Who is "he" you are talking about? I am confused.

In any event, you have an uphill battle to locate a will which may or may not exist. Depends on how much money you're willing to spend. You need to track down via dad's checkbooks or credit card statements for the last several years whether he made any payments to a law firm. That would be a place to begin, but how are you going to do that? Impossible without court authorization. So you may need to hire a lawyer to open an administration proceeding in the county where dad was domiciled at death, and ask for preliminary letters and authority to investigate the matter further. Very much an uphill battle. Sad.

Good luck.

Rick Bryan

New York, NY

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Answered on 6/08/09, 4:48 pm


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