Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
Cremated Remains
My mother�s ashes were mixed with
those of her 3rd Husband, Tom. Tom
out lived my mom for 3 years and
had no children of his own. When he
died the entire estate, including my
mom�s ashes and the family home
was left to my sister and I, which
may have generated some ill will.
Tom�s sister has refused to give us
the ashes or disclose where they are
spread. The cremation was paid for
out of the estate. The ashes were in
my mother's home, and were taken
by his sister under the pretense of
taking them to the mortuary not to
transfer ownership. The two families
have been fighting over this for
nearly ten years. I really just want to
know where my mom�s remains are,
or were spread. Do I have any legal
recourse to force them to tell us?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Cremated Remains
It is unclear if this is a WA or NY probate question. If it is a WA question, the ashes could be part of the estate (under the residuary clause) if they were not expressly addressed in the will. You could take this into probate to address it. The other alternative is to file a separate civil suit on the theft. It could theoretically be a criminal matter, but most police departments and prosecutor's offices are under serious budget constraints and probably won't do much with this matter.
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