Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

If the bonds are in your name, they are yours. Contents, as referred to in the will means the household furnishings and other personal property. If your cousin is giving you a hard time, look for an estates lawyer who handles probate litigation.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

No. Are you asking this again? Real property = land and anything attached to the land like a house.

Real property does NOT include anything in the house like appliances, clothes, furniture OR bonds or cash.

In this case, the will said real property and contents of the home, which are home furnishings, appliances and furniture. Not anything that happens to be located in the house.

Bonds usually are in a separate category but as Attorney Jacobson noted, if they are in your name then they are yours. If there is no name or the bonds are in the deceased's name then they are part of the estate.

You say that the will does not refer to the bonds. This is not necessarily indicative of a problem. Was the will drafted by an attorney? Although no mention is made of the bonds, does the will contain what is called a residue clause? A residue clause comes after bequests of personal or real property and says something to the effect of "Anything not otherwise devised herein shall pass as follows" or "all the rest, residue of my property shall pass as follows" and any remaining property will then go to the person or person's named. If there is absolutely no residue clause then a partial intestacy would result. In such case, the bonds (assuming there is no name on there but the decedent) would pass to the surviving spouse and children (if any). I assume that you are the son and that there is no other spouse. If I am correct then the bonds would pass to you and any other siblings (not a niece).

So either way, it sounds like the bonds pass to you if you are an only child. However, neither I nor anyone else here has seen the will. You need to take the will to a probate attorney who practices in the county/state where the estate will be probated..