Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
should I have been informed
My father died recently and due to long standidn family schisms there has been no communication from my sister who was living with him at the time of his death about the handling of the estate.She informed me several days ago that he ''left everything'' to her and it had ''all been taken care of''.
None of we other four children were ever contacted or provided with any information as to who my father named as his beneficiaries or when the will was being read.
When my parents divorced several years ago my mother changed her will and wanted to remove my sister from her list of beneficiaries.She was told that she very specifically had to state that''Jane Doe'' is to receive nothing and also that said ''Jane Doe'' would have to be notified as to the time and place that the will was to be read.
Should my fathers lawyer or the probate court have contacted the rest of us?-and if so what is the next step in dealing with this=any information i could be provided with would be greatly appreciated
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: should I have been informed
You only need to be informed if there is a probate of your father's estate. If you have not been contacted, that means that no probate has been filed. As a surviving child, you can file the probate. This will force disclosure of all information.
Re: should I have been informed
It depends:
1. was there a will?
2. how much was the value of the estate?
3. was the estate, if any transferred before your father died?
4. if the estate was transferred, was your father competent to transfer, at the time when he transferred; and
5. finally, what does everything was taken care of mean??
please advise.
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