Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan
grandmother had no will
My grandmother decided not to have a will. Instead she informed her daughter, my aunt, what to do with her estate. My father, my aunt's brother, is deceased. If my grandmother's estate is now in my aunt's name, do my brother and i have any legal right to, what would have been, my father's share. According to my aunt, what my grandmother intended my brother and I to have was virtually nothing, in comparison to the total of the estate. My mother believes my aunt is lying about what my grandmother wanted us to have.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: grandmother had no will
Any assets held in your grandmother's individual name that did not pass to a named beneficiary will need to go thru the probate court. Your grandmother's children would take equal shares of the probate estate and the share for a deceased child would pass to that deceased child's offspring. Therefore, your father's share would pass to you and your brother.
On the other hand, any assets that have designated beneficiaries will pass to those beneficiaries and any assets jointly owned with rights of survivorship will pass to the surviving joint owner.
It will be very hard to prove a verbal agreement between your Aunt and grandmother regarding assets that were owned jointly with your Aunt or that passed to your Aunt as the named beneficiary.
This type of situation is best handled by an attorney. Our office handles these matters on a regular basis. If you require further assistance, please call.
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