Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
wills
I was adopted & met birth family 10 years ago. Grandfather recently passed & birth mother no longer speaking to me. Wondering how to check his will. We got along well & I have heard nothing. Wondered if there was a way to check or if they could leave me out somehow without me knowing..
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: wills
If you were formally adopted, you are entitled to take a portion of the estate of your adopted family, but not your birth family.
You can look up a will at the Superior Courthouse in the County where a person was domiciled at the time of their death. In rare cases, the probate will be somewhere else, but chances are that is where the probate action is filed. It is public record. If you know the name and date of death the clerk can advise you how to find the record.
You could have been devised something, or possibly not. I can't really tell on these facts. Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell