Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You and your granddaughter are his intestate heirs. For those with out a will the legislature has passed laws as to who gets what. Under that law you and your granddaughter are his heirs. You need to file paperwork to become administrator of his estate.

This will require a lawyer. You can contact your county bar association to find a lawyer to help you out. This is NOT a do it yourself project.

{John}

I am sorry for your loss. You will need to probate an estate for your son in the county/state where he resided and need to get appointed as the personal representative for your son's estate. The girlfriend is not entitled to anything but until you are the personal representative you cannot make a demand. Once you are legally in charge, you can.

I am afraid girlfriend is not going to be very willing to give stuff up and is going to claim stuff is hers or that your son gave it to her. You are probably going to need a lawyer in that case to force her to allow an inventory of stuff. Things like the motorcycle, however, should have a title so it should be easy to determine whether it belonged to your son in whole or in part.

Since your son had a child, the child (and if there are any other children they would be included too) to inherit all of the net assets in the estate. If the sum of the net assets is going to be substantial, then a guardian is going to need appointed to handle the money. Guardians are usually required to post a bond. You just cannot give the net money to the girlfriend because I guarantee, she will blow it and not use it for the child.

A suicide note is not a will but if is signed at the end, maybe the courts will treat it as such. I don't think it would matter much if there are no other children as the daughter would stand to inherit either way. I suggest that you at least consult a probate attorney who practices in the county/state where the estate for your son will be set up, but failing that, at least talk to the register of wills at the Orphans' Court (if this is in PA) or the clerk of the probate court.