Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio
My Children's Rights
Unbeknownst to me, my minor children were left the balance of an account in a will by my aunt. My aunt died 7/7/00. Being their mother, I was never notified by the executor of the estate of my aunt that my children were in the will. Neither was I notified when the will was read, filed and all person properties were appraised, disbursed, etc. Now this year, last week as a matter of fact 10/08/01. I received a telephone call from an attorney who says he is handling the estate of my deceased aunt (the executor listed in the will is not this attorney)wants me to accept a check he is fed exing me and to sign a paper concenting to all legal fees and a paper saying that my children will accept this check as final payment. I had never seen the will, so I called the probate court and had a copy sent to me. The amount of the check is far less than what the account stipulates that was willed to my children. What should I do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: My Children's Rights
If your Aunt died in Georgia, her gift to the minor children may be required to go into a custodial account. Since the gift is less than what it is supposed to be you should ask for an explination from the executor or executor's attorney. If you are not sattisfied with the answer you recieve or feel there is a problem, your children may have remedies through the Probate Court. Enough time may have elapsed since the executor was appointed, allowing you to ask the court for an accounting.
Re: My Children's Rights
You should ask the attorney for the estate to provide you with an accounting of the affairs of the estate and or the final accounting (sometimes that is the only accounting ever prepared). If he will not provide it, go see the Probate Judge. The fact that your children's distribution is less than what is stated in the Will does not mean that something nefarious is going on. If the aunt died leaving lots of unpaid medical bills or credit cards, etc., those bills are paid first. Whatever is left is distributed. And, (unless it is a specific bequest) the lawyer is paid before your children are paid. Hugh Wood
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