Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
Estate
My father passed away in 1990. The estate was handled by my brother. I was under 18 at the time of my father's death so I was appointed a gardian ad litem, who was a local attorney. I recently copied the doucments of the estate from the local courthouse. I found many discrepencies. Property that wasn't in the estate. No mention of a life insurance policy. My father's estate totaled over $200,000. The heirs received a total of 24,000. This includes the $6,000 I recieved. My father owed no debts. He knew he was dying and paid them in full before his death. In short the estate was misrepresented, my gardian ad litem didn't do his job, and the attorney I hired in 1990 to oversee the matter didn't do his job. What (if anything) can I now do about this?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Estate
Life insurance is generally not a probate asset (so depending on how much it was, if you were counting it in the $200,000 you should subtract it out). Life insurance proceeds pass to the named beneficiary. You do not state whether there was a will. If there was a will, distribution may be other than equal shares as through intestate rules (heirs refers to taking without a will). Your statement of the facts is more of an interpretation and conclusions than a statement of facts of the situation and does not convince me the estate was mishandled and it does not convince me it was properly handled-you just have not provided enough relevant information. Depending on when you turned eighteen you may be facing a statute of limitations problem also. You should consult with an attorney who will be able to look at the documents, understand them and explain their significance to you.
Re: Estate
Life insurance is generally not a probate asset (so depending on how much it was, if you were counting it in the $200,000 you should subtract it out). Life insurance proceeds pass to the named beneficiary. You do not state whether there was a will. If there was a will, distribution may be other than equal shares as through intestate rules (heirs refers to taking without a will). Your statement of the facts is more of an interpretation and conclusions than a statement of facts of the situation and does not convince me the estate was mishandled and it does not convince me it was properly handled-you just have not provided enough relevant information. Depending on when you turned eighteen you may be facing a statute of limitations problem also. You should consult with an attorney who will be able to look at the documents, understand them and explain their significance to you.
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