The first question is: it is possible to find the lost will, do you know which attorney that your father used. Attorneys always keep copies of wills they write for their clients. In the event you can't find the will or find the attorney that drafted the will, you will find it impossible to prove which it said.
Aug 04, 2012 · The trustee is likely required to provide you with a copy. I would either write to her requesting the copies or have an attorney do it for you. You do not say when your father died. If it was recent, the court might not have a problem with your not having the copie, yet.
Although your loved one’s attorney probably kept the original will, it’s customary that he would have sent a copy home with his client. This can be important if you don't find the original. If you can't find the attorney, and if you can’t determine where he put his documents when he stopped practicing, consider what your loved one might have done with the copy he retained.
Apr 05, 2013 · You can however get a copy of the will. Check your father's name in the local county courthouse. If it is lodged or a probate was undertaken, you can get the information there. If not, you may want to have an attorney write a letter to your father's wife requesting a copy. Report Abuse BK Bruce C Keswick (Unclaimed Profile) Update Your Profile
Jun 30, 2020 · The estate attorney will also send a copy of the will to anyone who is named as a beneficiary. If any minor children or incapacitated individuals are named as beneficiaries, then their guardians should receive a copy of the will. In some states, anyone who would have inherited if there was no will is entitled to a copy of the will.
Under the NC Uniform Trust Code, the Trustee should provide a copy of the Trust instrument upon the reasonable request of a qualified beneficiary. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36C-8-813.
I agree with the other two answers-so the answer to your question is-YES-it is typical.
Agree that asking first is good policy, but I betcha you'll be heading to probate court to force production of the full document plus accountings.
At this point the lawyer is either representing the successor trustee or no one. The trustee is likely required to provide you with a copy. I would either write to her requesting the copies or have an attorney do it for you. You do not say when your father died.
In most states, if you fail to locate a will, the law presumes that it’s because your loved one revoked it before his death by destroying it. The court will probate his estate as though he died intestate -- that is, without a will. However, if you were able to find a copy, you can try to convince the court to honor it.
If you can’t find the attorney, you’ll have to figure out where he might have placed the will when he stopped practicing. Some state probate courts accept wills for safekeeping before the testator’s death. If yours does, call the court to see if the attorney transferred possession of the will to the court. If not, the court might have knowledge of ...
You can also search for information online and in the newspaper. The attorney may have made a major contribution to a charity recently or won a golf tournament. If you can find mention of him, the website or newspaper might have interviewed him. Contact them and ask if they know where you can reach him.
Call your state’s bar association to find out if it still has contact information for him. Check the phone directory for personal listings of people with the same name. Attorneys don’t often list their home phone numbers, even after they’ve retired, but if you can reach a relative and explain your situation, she might be willing to have the lawyer call you. You can also contact other local attorneys, especially those who practice estate law. Lawyers are often a tight-knit group and some of them may have stayed in touch with him. You can also search for information online and in the newspaper. The attorney may have made a major contribution to a charity recently or won a golf tournament. If you can find mention of him, the website or newspaper might have interviewed him. Contact them and ask if they know where you can reach him.
This can be important if you don't find the original. If you can't find the attorney, and if you can’t determine where he put his documents when he stopped practicing, consider what your loved one might have done ...
If your loved one left his last will and testament with his attorney for safekeeping, the attorney can’t toss the will into a trash bin when he decides to retire or close his office. Not only do the laws in most states prohibit this, lawyers have an ethical responsibility to safeguard their clients’ documents.
Attorneys don’t often list their home phone numbers, even after they’ve retired, but if you can reach a relative and explain your situation, she might be willing to have the lawyer call you . You can also contact other local attorneys, especially those who practice estate law.
If a probate estate was never opened you would not have received any notice. If no estate was opened within a year of his death it's too late to open an estate. If you are aware of any particular asset that he may have owned you could file an action for determination of heir-ship. In order to do this you must have a lawyer. You can check with the probate division of the Circuit Court in the county where your father lived to see if anything has been filed, etc.
You can however get a copy of the will. Check your father's name in the local county courthouse. If it is lodged or a probate was undertaken, you can get the information there. If not, you may want to have an attorney write a letter to your father's wife requesting a copy. Report Abuse.
You obtain the assistance of probate counsel to assist you in investigating to determine if you are entitled to any part of your father's estate, if he had an estate; the attorney may want to file a petition into probate to have you appointed administrator to reopen his estate.
If you find out there was a probate and you were not notified, then you would have a cause of action against the personal representative, but be careful if your father's will said you get nothing, then you win and potentially are entitled to nothing; a Pyrric victory. Many people pass without a will.
If no will, you have the right to your intestate share of his separate property estate (two-thirds divided equally among the children).
In Missouri, a will is not valid if not applied to be admitted to probate within one year of the decedent's death. Since more than a year has passed, the will would be invalid if you attempted to get it admitted to probate. If your step-mother is still alive, most couples have assets in joint names so that upon the first to die, the surviving spouse is entitled to all the assets. I believe this to be the situation with your father.
Answered on Apr 05th, 2013 at 11:10 AM. Nevada law requires that a will be filed after death. Check the county where he died to see if a will was filed. Also, check with the county court to see if a probate case was filed.
If your Dad died with no will (if you can't prove that it was your stepmother who destroyed it) then his estate is split between stepmother and you and your sister. So, destroying the will puts her a little ahead of where she would have been had your Dad's will left none to her she would still have been able to claim a "spousal share" depending on how long they were married. The insurance policies will pay out to named beneficiaries, and are not affected by the will. You should get a lawyer and be prepared to administer the estate if stepmother does not move to do so.
If no will is found, your father's estate would pass pursuant to Florida's intestacy laws. You really should consult with a probate attorney right away to ensure that your interests, as a child of the decedent, are protected.
If your father had a Will that cannot be located you would have to find a copy and then attempt to prove it was lost. It is possible to prove a Will was lost but it is difficult. Perhaps you can locate the attorney that helped your father create the Will and get a copy from the attorney. It is a place to start.
"Knowing it" is one thing, but being able to prove or show it might be another. Unless you can show some concrete evidence of a Will, you might not be able to show anything? If he had a Will done through an attorney, if you can find that attorney he/she might have a copy and/or might know where the original was kept.
A lot of attorneys offer to keep the original wills they prepare for their clients, at no charge. They do this so they can probate the estates of their clients. When a client dies, their children read the copy of the will and call the attorney whose name is stamped in big bold letters on the first page.
If your wills are in your attorney’s safe, you do not have to worry about losing them. You may even be concerned that certain family members may go so far as to destroy your will to get a larger inheritance. If the will is in your attorney’s safe, that will not happen. In your case, this backfired.
You need to contact the probate court and the court clerk’s office with your father’s name and the date he died to see if there was a will that was filed. Sometimes, this can be done online. The court must then rule whether the will is valid and whether there were two witnesses. Advertisement.
If there is no will, your stepmother may only inherit just one-third of all separate property in Texas (this is as much as one-half in other states). Separate property constitutes anything purchased before your father remarried.
If your sibling actually contests the will or codicil and the court agrees that the will or codicil is invalid , or that parts of it are invalid, there are several outcomes. The entire will or codicil can be thrown out. If there is an earlier will in existence, that will could be put into place instead.
Your sibling can’t have the will overturned just because he feels left out, it seems unfair, or because your parent verbally said they would do something else in the will.
There are only four main legal reasons a will can be contested: How the will is signed and witnessed. A problem with execution can lead to a will being declared invalid. Execution is all about how the will is signed and witnessed.
Part of the will or codicil could be upheld, leaving the court to interpret how the rest of the estate should be distributed. When a sibling decides to contest a will sparks fly, but when it comes down to brass tacks, the court looks at all of the facts in the case and makes a decision based on what is provable.
A last will and testament is presumed to be valid by the probate court if it is in the proper format. A will or a codicil to a will (an amendment made to a will after it has been signed) can only be contested for very specific legal reasons and the process begins when an interested person notifies the court.
In most states the standard is a bit lower. If your parent understood his assets and what he had to give away, if he understood who his heirs and beneficiaries were, and if he understood the effect of the will, then he had the mental capacity to make the will.
If your parent signed it and there are two witnesses and all of your state’s requirements are met, there is no problem. If the signature is not your parent’s or a witness didn’t actually sign it, then there could be questions about its validity. Mental capacity at time of will signing.