Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Yikes.

You need to take your document, together with a family tree, to an attorney and go through both carefully. Was your father's inheritance a specific bequest, or would he have inherited under this catch-all residual clause? This is complicated, and there is no way to know without talking it through with you.

Feel free to make a consultation appointment with our trusts and estate attorney, Emily McNeil, at 617-357-4898.

This sounds like a summarized version of the MA Intestate Law at the time the woman died.

Basically, it's stating that when someone dies, in this case the woman, at the year of her death 2008, they will look to see if she has children or grandchildren. If there are none, they will see if she has any parents, if they are also deceased, the property will pass to the woman's brothers and sisters. If there are no brothers and sisters, or they are also deceased, it will go to the children/grandchildren of the brothers and sisters. If none of those people exist they will look up one more level. By looking at the woman's grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and so forth.

Now, because your father predeceased the woman, his interest might not be granted, if there were other persons of closer relation to the woman. It could be quite possible that you are not entitled to any inheritance, due to the property being disposed of to relations of a higher level, an example would be your father's brothers and sisters.

It would take a close look at your family tree, and that of your father and the woman, to determine if under the MA Intestate Laws of 2008 you had any claim to the inheritance.

If you like to discuss this further call my office at (617) 458-6593 to setup a free appointment.

Regards,