Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
I live in Ocala, FL in my father's house since 5-06. He passed 9-27-08 & my mother 10-27-04. He left the home to go to my mother's funeral held in NY & only returned for 2 days with my sister. He had been staying with her since as she felt it was necessary to get him to doctor's appts. However, his income tax continued to be from Florida. In 2003 his will stated everything was to go to that sister as he trusted her to disperse everything equally (she was unmarried & he felt more capable of doing the legwork) but by early the following year (2004) he gave her $150k to build & purchase an additional home to use for him when he went up north & then to be hers after he passed. He put it in her name because legal advice, she told him, was to do it now. He had already given her $40K to use as a downpayment on a house she was renting in Queens so he & my Mother wanted the will changed to leave the balance of funds & Florida home to me. He & I were told this was taken care of. When I was in NY for his funeral my sister told me that she didn't know when the will would be read & she'd keep me posted. Then she told me she had told the funeral director inadvertenly that he was a resident of NY instead of Florida so it would be "probated" in NY. That was the last I heard of it until October. I was sent a notice that the will would be probated in NY and recvd a copy of it and all went to her. I, of course objected. They postponed the court date for Nov. 25th, even though I requested 1/7/10 or Feb 2010. What can I do. I can not afford to be in NY the day before THANKSGIVING. Can I possibly win this battle? I may be able to show that my sister is untrustworthy as she is pretending to be married. In fact, this man is still married to his wife, not my sister, although they actually went through a wedding ceremony, a very expensive one, which my father never knew he was paying for. She just helped herself to his funds and said he wanted to pay for it. She unfortunately has power of attorney. This so called wedding took place on 10-8-06 and my sister has been acting strange and distant from me ever since. I know for a fact that this man is still married to his wife and the wife knows nothing about this relationship. My sister has told her close friend that she has left everything to this man in her will. I wonder if he had to produce his wife in court for her to tell what their status is, if that would do anything for my case?
Please advise. I can not afford a $5k retainer. If a lawyer is confident to win this case - they can be paid from the estate. I have no income and we are living off my husband's SS. I need this house and I desperately need some help. Thank you for whatever information you can provide.
1 Answer from Attorneys
This is a long question with a short answer. If you father's assets are in Florida, then the Will should be probated in Florida. You have the power to negotiate fee terms with an attorney. Keep searching.