Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
Repeatedly claimed everything was left to me
In brief, my neighbor, whom I loved as a second mother, and I lived next to for over 15 years, passed away recently, and had no will when she died. She was completely alone, and called me son, having cut all ties with her daughter for the past ten years, for several reasons. She was a widow, and had no other immediate family. I was her chauffeur, and fix it man, even entrusted to write checks for her to sign, etc. and never took advantage of her trust, my motives were pure, and I was the only person she trusted to enter her home, as she was a very security conscious person, while very friendly with all she knew. In the past few years, she repeatedly insisted, she was leaving everything to me, and called me ''son'' in fact, I can't remember the last time she called me by my first name. This stipulation of her intentions, was also made to several other individuals we knew, and was done so even when I was not present. I feel kind of weird, inquiring re: her estate, (which is probably around a half million dolars) and chose to pursue this actively, following an appearance by her estranged daughter,packing up her stuff, and noting her intentions to ''give'' moms' car to her boyfriend... I can confirm her wishes, what is my recourse?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Repeatedly claimed everything was left to me
Please accept my sympathy for your loss; thank you for being such a great neighbor and going above and beyond the call of duty to take care of this lady when her family would not. You did a really great thing and you should always be proud of yourself for doing this.
If I have your facts correct, when she died she had no will. This is called "Intestacy". When somebody dies without a will, the state will make certain presumptions about the decedent's wishes in regard to their estate. The property will go to the decedent's children, and there is no recourse for you whatsoever.
Please don't hesitate to call the Bar Association in your county for a low-cost referral to a local attorney who can explain this to you.
My ability to provide advice in this context is limited to the facts you have provided; knowing something else might change my opinion. But if you are right and she had no will, you are not going to take any part of her estate. If she had a will and you don't know about it (which is entirely possible) the answer might be different.
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