Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

My sister and brother in law took full custody of our mother and her care in late '08/early '09. Within in a few months she and he had mom's trust re-written and she became the executrix and added trustee of mom's estate. The house in the city and the 38 acres and house in the country totaled 1 million dollars alone. There was an unknown amount of monies in CDs.

Mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in early 2008. She had "several small strokes" in the summer of 2009. She died Aug 29, 2009 by choking on a hotdog in the back seat of their car. No one was with her back there and was not watching her eat. She had swallowing issues for quite some time. How do I get an attorney to sue for wrongful death? I'm running out of time. Out of the 5 kids three of us only received $30,000. Please help me.


Asked on 4/15/14, 7:53 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

No, I'm afraid I don't see what you've described in regard to your mother's passing as a viable wrongful death action. (Furthermore, as far as I am aware, the statute of limitations for wrongful death in Virginia is normally two years rather than the five which apparently you are counting on.)

The time for you (as well as your siblings) to have acted was back in 2009 when you could've challenged the actions of your sister and brother to rewrite your mother's trust that apparently allowed them to take control of her assets and estate and as a result allegedly receive most of the assets of this estate after your mother's death.(my opinion).

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Answered on 4/16/14, 7:12 am


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