Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You should contact an estates/probate attorney as soon as possible. Feel free to contact me at 215-367-5110 if you are in the Philadelphia area.

I don't know what it means to "write up a paper." If the "paper" concerrns the disposition of assets to occur once someone dies, the "paper" is called a will.

The problem here is that you state no relevant facts. Did your father die? If so, when? Did he make a will after 1997? If he did then whatever he wrote up in 1997 is no longer valid. Maybe. No lawyer on an internet website has seen this document and can't comment on its validity. Also, assuming your father made a valid "will" in 1997 and later sold his business and then died, the bequest in the will is considered adeemed, meaning that the bequest is null and void. And because your father is now married, it does not matter what the will said as the spouse is entitled to a share of the assets unless there was a pre-nuptial agreement.

Attorney Polsky is right. You are going to need a lawyer as does your father's wife if he is deceased.

Thank you for your question. You state in your facts that your late father-in-law�s daughter is claiming an interest in this business and the proceeds resulting from the sale of that business. She has the burden of proof and in order to prevail, she must prove (1) that there was, in fact, a completed gift, and (2) Must produce the original document which created this gift.

This is called the �Best Evidence Rule� which states that if a party is basing their claim on a specific document, then they must produce the original document with the Grantor�s original signature and if it cannot be produced, then they must show proof satisfactory to the Court as to why the original cannot be produced, and what efforts she made to locate the original document.

This will be a difficult burden for her to meet because if the business was acquired during the course of his marriage, then it would constitute �marital property� to which the wife of your late father in law has a superior right and her signature on the document purporting to create this gift would have been necessary in order to wipe out the wife�s interest in the marital property.

It is a complex situation, involving both estate law and Pennsylvania Domestic Relations law. I have to agree with my colleagues that this matter cannot be resolved without involving an attorney who is well versed in both of the aforementioned areas of Pennsylvania law.

If you need clarification, or assistance, I am available for In-Office consultations.

Kindest Regards,

ANDREA G. TILLIS 610-259-2724