Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia
PLEASE HELP THIS FAMILY IMMEDIATELY1!!!!have a bad situation. uncle dies dec2008, has only 1 living brother, my dad. uncle had will 2003 that brother is executor. was notorized and put in safe was ask by uncle that brother does not open until his death. cousin that was staying with uncle to care for him because he(cousin) was retired and had time to do so, got poa of uncle june 2008, uncle put on hospice care 6/19/2008, but cousin got an attoreny in his town to write a will and he got this will date 06/13/08 adn he rushed and had his will docketed in the probate court before my brother had a chance to go to the bank to get the safe deposit box and uncle had his will in the bank safe , the will from the attorney was dated 6 days before uncle wnet on hospice from VA. (strange) he was on hospice b/c he was 82, with heart problems and he was having blackouts and delusional and would forget where he was, what he was doing, would get lost driving, etc. but the will written up by the attorney with cousin permission i am sure, gave all the attorney executor of his estate and the judge made him appointed executor to all assets 1/2 million dollars worth! and it will stated all net proceeds to be given to Veteran Administration. they got final ruling in their favor the corruct attoreny and the cousin, that is. we had an attorney, we ask for an appeal but after waiting 2 years, our attorney told the judge that my father had give him permission to dismiss the appeal but my father has an poa since 2003 and my father has been in the hospital since 12/17/10 and is on hospice and gravely ill at the time that our attorney said that my dad gave him persmission.. the attorney did not give us due process to fight the appeal. the final judgment was signed on dec 6,2010,we were not notified by out attorney!!!!! i did file a greivance with the georgia state bar for this action. we just found out after my brother went to pick up paperwork from him office. wht recourse do we have to get everthing back to my father/family and overturn tis unfair ruling?!!!! i am sick that gordon county court applied the law incorreclty and they were all in this. the opposing attorney stated on the final judgment that our attorney gave him permission to sign off on his behalf. this is a breaking of the rules of consuct! the opposing attorney also signed on behalf of the attorney that refresented him whcih one of his law partners! with express permission it states! they ripped off my familys' inheritnace. can i as an heir file something since i lost my inheritance?or does it have to be dad ? i am trying to find an avenue to win this becuase my dad needs money to pay the caretakers around the closk for his car. my uncle loved his only brother dearly, my dad is 90 the reason he left brother as executor b/c brother tkae care of dad's affair, paying caretkers, taxes, utilities, ect. and the will made up by the attorney/cousin states he leave his brother 100.00. uncle would have neer done such. my father has been saved all his life, a good law abiding citizen. he did not deserve for gordon county probate court to do this to him. i hope they all rot in HELL for what they done to him!!!PLEASE HELP THIS FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 Answers from Attorneys
No need to read that entire story. An internet message board is not a substitute for your lawyer.
You act like this was your inheritance as if you had a right to it. You don't. Your uncle was not obligated to leave you or your dad anything.
The cousin who made the new will may have acted with fraud or undue influence. If he is dead and the cousin tries to probate the new will, it can be challenged by what is called a caveat. It sounds like your family went through some type of legal proceeding and that you lost. If that is the case, your remedy was to appeal and your father had 30 days to do that. I cannot comment on what your attorney in the case did or did not do as Idon't have all the facts and I cannot conclude, just based on what you said that there was, in fact, any malpractice.
50% of all people in the court system are losers and are understandably unhappy. That does not mean that there was malpractice or that you were somehow cheated. Again, I just don't know all the facts nor does any other attorney here.
Your father's case would need re-examined by a competent probate litigation attorney, preferably one who practices in Gordon County. However, as this has been through litigation already, the chances are very slim that this can be re-opened, but you will have to inquire whether that is possible. There are time limits for challenging a judgment. You also have to present grounds for re-opening the case, such as the discovery of new evidence.
I wish you luck.
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