Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts
My father passed away in July 2012. His last will and testament declared myself and my siblings as sole beneficiaries of his estate. He has remarried 7 years prior to his death. His verbal wish prior to his death was that my stepmother receive the estate to live off of after his death. My siblings and I honored his wishes and did not bring forth the will or contest the settling of the estate at this time with the verbal agreement that our stepmother would leave the remaining inheritance to us kids upon her passing. She has recently begun to exhibit signs of mental illness suggesting paranoid schizophrenia. She has begun alienating herself from my fathers side of the family and even filed restraining orders against my uncles this morning. I do not have access to the will as it is in my fathers filing cabinet within the home and I do not feel comfortable at this point going to the house in fear of having similar legal injunctions placed upon myself. I am in law enforcement and even a bogus filing for a restraining order would have serious consequences upon my career. I should note that the house is still in my fathers name and was purchased prior to his remarriage to my stepmother. She received roughly 550,000 in life insurance and retirement savings which she still has in her own investment accounts. What, if any, are our options at this point in regards to reclaiming the inheritance?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Thank you for your question, and please accept my condolences for the loss of your father.
Although it seems like you had good intentions, it is a terrible idea to disregard a will and make verbal agreements with respect to estate and property. There are ways of accomplishing what you and your siblings were hoping to accomplish that would have protected you and honored your father's wishes. If there is no will, then property passes according to the laws of intestacy, regardless of any verbal agreements you might have. The home may appear to be in your father's name, but title has passed to his heirs automatically as a matter of law.
I very strongly recommend that you meet with an attorney as soon as possible to review the estate and see what can be done. I invite you to reach out to our office if you are interested in sorting this out.
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