Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

I want to find out if I need a lawyer. My father passed away last year, in his will he left my sister and I all his possessions. Our step-mother still lives in his home, she has a life estate. ON the property there are 2 houses, on of which my sister lives in. The attorney who wrote his will only instructed him to write a letter stating his wish for my sister to continue to live in the house for her life. That was void when he died. His wife sent my sister a letter from an attorney stating she had no rights to live on the property. It wasn't a request for her to get out only to inform her the ownership was with our stepmother. We are not welcome in our fathers home any longer and wish to get our possessions which he left us. Do we need a lawyer to execute the wishes in the will?


Asked on 9/28/10, 9:53 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Hard to say without examining all of the relevant paperwork involved in the

matter(in my opinion).

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Answered on 10/03/10, 11:45 am
Paul B. Ward Law Offices of Paul B. Ward

You may find that you can get much better response to this situation by dealing with the attorney who sent the letter to your sister; he clearly represents the stepmother, who I presume is the executor of the estate, and the attorney is likely to be less emotionally involved than she. A conversation or two with the attorney, simply stating your views and wishes, may be quite productive. If not, get your hired gun.

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Answered on 10/04/10, 4:31 am


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