Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Parents disowning their children

There can be no Will contest until a Will is presented to the Surrogate for Probate.

You can gather information about your mother's mental condition which will be helpful if a contest is made in the future.

The letter from the Lawyer is unusual and may indicate a desire to reconcile; but who knows.

If a person does not have mental capacity, and you don't need much capacity to sign a valid Will,then the Will can be denied Probate.

What is it you really want to accomplish?

Re: Parents disowning their children

Parents are entitled to disinherit children, providing that no undue influence is present or if they are competent to do so. You do not say if there are other children, whether this is first or secind marriages, with other children, or if anything has happened within the family to justify their action. If this is merely a question of competence, contact their regular treating doctor to see if he can assist in getting a competemcy determination. It takes two psychological medical evaluations to have this determined, and it can be contested. Has anything happened to either of them recently that would create a situation which would result in this decision. Maybe a meeting with your father is necessary to discuss the matter. It would be unusual for the attorney to announce this in advance, so maybe he is trying to tell you something, so you can check on it. More information is necessary to give you a better answer or advise what to do.