Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia
I, along with several of my cousins, have been clearning out the home of another cousin that passed away in October 2011. I have found a copy of his parents' will and he was named as executor in that will. His parents (my aunt and uncle) passed away in 2007. In the will the majority of their estate was left to their son (my cousin). However, I along with my other cousins were named as beneficiaries in that will. NONE of us received our portions of the will or a copy of the will. Since my aunt and uncle had one child (my cousin), there was no reason that the neices and nephews would think that we would be named in their will. I have learned that the attorney that wrote the will is now also deceased. Do we have any recourse? I don't want to spend money going to an attorney if we have nothing to gain.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Without knowing what was left to you, how much of it is left and what it's worth, there's no way to answer you. If you think the amount is significant, it would make sense to pay for a consultation with a lawyer, as that is very inexpensive, and you can determine if you might want to sue his estate or not.
You do not provide any details about this. Where did your aunt and uncle live? What was the order of their deaths? Did they each have a will? Was the estate of the last one of them to die probated? What assets/debts did your aunt or uncle have? What was to be left to you and your siblings?
I would agree with Attorney Ashman that you are going to have to spend a little money here if you want answers. I would see if an estate was probated for your aunt and uncle. Look in the county/state where they lived at the time of their death. I would check both estates of your aunt and uncle. Look for the will (there should be a separate will for each), an inventory and an accounting. These are public records and you do not need to be an attorney to access the court files.
Take copies of the will and other documents to a probate attorney in the county/state where the estate(s) were probated. Pay the attorney to review the documents and consult with you regarding the estate. It may be that the estates can be re-opened or you can pursue other litigation against your cousin's estate. However, if your aunt and uncle had no assets in their estate at the time of their death, then there was nothing for you to inherit. However, you will not know unless you look into this matter.
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How to transfer a home of deceased parents to adult children? Asked 1/03/12, 9:10 am in United States Georgia Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates