Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: How Does a Person Find out if a Will is going to go through Probate?

Try to relax; because there is very little you can do while your mother is alive.

As a child you must be informed in a very formal way of the probate of the Will. And, yes you have the right to contest the Will.

Your best route to follow is, if possible, to speak to your mother and encourage her to treat all of her children equally, or at least equitably.

Keep in mind that the piece of paper your mother may have signed is not a Will unitl she dies and it is accepted for probate. While your mother is living she can change her "Will" as often as she like and for any reason or no reason.

Re: How Does a Person Find out if a Will is going to go through Probate?

If the Will is probated, it is a public document and you are entitled to see it and receive a copy (there may be a small photocopy charge). As an heir, you must be provided a copy if you are mentioned in it. You usually cannot make a claim for undue influence until the person dies, and then there is usually a limited time period to do so. If your sister does not probate the Will, things get more complicated, since you would not have a basis to bring the undue influence claim. It gets worse if the assets are transferred to her before your mother dies, which could happen in a case of undue influence. Is your mother competent? Perhaps you might want to consider a suit for incapacity, so her assets will be protected. As a child, you have the right, along with the other siblings, to be appointed her Guardian, which would allow you to examine all documents and, if necessary, reverse any action she may have taken while subject to the influence. If you anticipate a problem on her death, get whatever facts, data and information you can collect now to show how she treated all children in the past, so you are armed if her final disposition greatly differs from past designations. It is not unusual for a child to be disinherited or have their inheritance diminished if they received their inheritance in advance through lifetime largesse. Also, what is the comparative needs of the children. Sometimes parents do more for a child who has less than the others.