Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio
What is my Mother entitled to
My Mother was adopted in 1943. She was the youngest of three sisters. Her adoptive parents divorced when she was three and her adoptive Mother raised her. Her adoptive Father would want nothing to with my Mother once the divorce was final. He remarried, and my Mother never saw him again because he wanted nothing to do with her. When he died, his inheritance went to his new wife, and when she died, the inheriance went to the two daughters, but since one was already deceased, the other sister got both amounts($200,000). She gave one ($95,000) to her two children, and kept the other; excluding my Mother (her sister) completely. My Mother was going to contest the will since she was technically a daughter, but her sister told her if she did, the money would be drained by the lawsuit, so my Mother left it alone. Now my Mother has seen that there are unclaimed funds by the stepmother, and she would like to try and claim the funds, but one attorney she spoke with stated that she could pay for fees and do all of the work, but in the end, it would go to the two children of her sister (deceased now). Is there anything she can do. I feel that she has as much right as anyone else. Could you explain the law on this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: What is my Mother entitled to
Your mother, if you explained all this correctly, is not technically a daughter. In the eyes of the law, she is her father's daughter. The problem is that your mother has been disinherited by her father. This may have happened by actually stating so in his will or just omitting her from it. If the estate is closed with your mother never having contested the will to prove she had a right to some of the inheritance, there is probably nothing else to go on today to prove your mother has a right to the unclaimed funds. Perhaps she could get an agreement from her two sisters. Maybe this is what the attorney had explained to her.
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