Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
My daughters father passed away. I had full custody of her and he had no spouse or other children, he lived with his parents. He did own real estate and his parents put their house in his name. He also had some collector items of value. Do they need to pass these on to her or will they be able to hide it? How would I know if he had a will that excluded her?
1 Answer from Attorneys
As to how you would know if there is a wil, you would check with the register of wills/probate court in the county/state where your daughter's father lived at the time of his death to see if a will was probated and an estate opened. You do not provide any relevant details like where the man lived, when he died and so on. People just cannot put land into their names. And if he a child and no will, then the child would inherit EVERYTHING. I assume you w ere not married but there is no mention as to whether the child was born out of wedlock and legitimated or paternity established. Many states require paternity to be proved or acknowledge before a child can inherit from his/er biological father. You had better see a probate lawyer now to be able to get whatever your child is entitled to from the father's estate.