Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Minnesota

Reading Wills

Five months ago my father passed away. My father and mother each had there own wills drawn up and I held them both in my safety deposit box as my father requested.My mother requested the copies of will ( which his and her lawyer also has copy of). To this day the will has not been read and mother is giving away property. How do we get that will read to know whether or not father's wishes are being granted. By law does not this will need to be read and all person's listed in will need to be there ( the children) when the will is read and is there a time limit to when this needs to be done. What steps do I need to take to clear up this matter as my mother is now not cooperating with any of us.


Asked on 9/21/04, 1:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Kelly-952-544-6356 Kelly Law Office

Re: Reading Wills

There's no law I know of which requires a will to be read any particular place or at any particular time. Besides that, the will only has effect if it is filed with the probate court and a probate proceeding is started.

Probate is a process for transferring ownership where there is no other way to transfer that ownership. If your mother is getting by OK without going to probate court, there is a possibility that she doesn't need to.

If nobody files the will with the court, it means nothing. It only has effect after someone is appointed by the court to carry out the provisions of the will. Sometimes it is best to not do this if it can be avoided, but every case is different.

There is a good chance that the lawyer would be glad to give you a copy of the will if you requested it. It doesn't hurt to ask, if you haven't already. There might be a confidentiality issue, but that depends on his arrangement with your mom.

There's more to this than I can cover in an answer like this, and you would be well advised to consult with a lawyer (like me - 952-544-6356)and get all your questions answered.

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Answered on 9/21/04, 5:43 pm


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