Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

reading or viewing of a will?

There is no rule; what you see on TV is not what happens.

In addition, I do not think you noted your relationship to the decedents.

Usually, if there is a will, the proposed executor should file a petition for probate, and serve notice on the heirs about this. This is the begining of the process.

If some one with an estate dies without a will, then the laws of the state rule on the distribution. The absence of a will does not mean that some one can merely take control over the assets.

If there is a will, and it is in probate court, you can ask the executor or the attorney to view it. The other option is to go to the court where the probate action exists. Usually this is the county where the decedent had the legal resident.

If you have any questions, you can contact me for a complimentary consultation.

Re: reading of a will

OK -- let's break this down into parts.

First, there is no such thing as a formal reading of the will in Massachusetts. A petition for probate is filed no sooner than one month after death. Anyone named in the will and the next of kin are entitled to notice.

If your mother was joint owner of the family home with your stepfather, then he inherited the house outside of probate. The same applies to any other assets which she owned jointly with him. Assets which have beneficiary designations, such as 401(k) accounts or life insurance, pass to the people named as beneficiaries outside of probate as well.

Any assets she owned individually or as a tenant in commmon would have passed through her probate estate under the law of intestacy. Your step-father would have received one-half of the assets and the other half would have been divided between the children.

So... where does that leave you now? You need to go to the probate court for the county in which your stepfather lived and get a copy of the file. Read the will and see if you are mentioned. Remember -- you were not his biological child, and he had no obligation to leave you anything. Consider whether your mother ever promised you anything that actually belonged to her. Then consult a lawyer.

Re: reading of a will

Assuming that we are talking about Massachusetts, someone in possession of a decedent's will has to file it within thirty days of death. Once filed, it is basically a public document, viewable at the probate court in the county where the decedent was domiciled - where their "home" was.

I assume that your mother's estate was not administered (i.e., was anyone appointed to take care of the transfer of your mother's assets?). This can be the case if all of her assets were in joint title with right of survivorship to your stepfather.

One thing you might do is to check the land records to see how title to the house was held. If it was as tenants in common, you may have an interest in the house. If it was "tenants by the entirety", and your stepfather died after your mother, it would be in his estate, and controlled by his will, if he had one, or by the laws of intestate succession (meaning that his children inherit). Assuming that you were not adopted by him, you are probably not entitled to notice of probate of the will or notice of administration of his estate (if he had no will).

Echoing other comments, it comes down to the fact that one is not obligated to leave anything to stepchildren. Parents who wish to protect biological children need to either make a bequest in their own will, or set up a trust, e.g. with income to the surviving spouse and the remainder of the trust to the biological children.

While there are potentially other issues which might give a stepchild some rights, it is not certain, and it might require significant legal expense to explore, without being certain of a recovery.