I'm the sole heir of my mother's estate I'm having a hard time getting the last two years of my father's pensi

Question

on she didn't recieve due to a change of address. I showed them the will and now they are talking probate---What's this mean?

Answer 1

The will only reflects the decedent's wishes.  Only the probate courts can accept the will and actually divide up the estate.  If the estates have not been probated, they cannot release the funds to you.  Once you enter the probate process, the court will issue Letters Testamentary to the Executor of the estate, showing that they have the legal authority to gather the assets of the estate and complete the probate process.

You need to consult with an attorney if this makes no sense to you.

Answer 2

if the will is not in probate hire a lawyer if the will is in probate talk to the probate lawyer he is the one that makes sure all the money is in the estate

Answer 3

It means they can be sued if they give you the money.

Here is the problem:  

Lawyers have a reputation.  It is not a good reputation.  They have earned that reputation.

The will is an expression of the decedent.  It is not 'official' until it gets a stamp of approval from a lawyer with the title of judge.  The judge, should he grant you access to the money, is saying, "This honorable court finds no contestation to the proposed actions of the executrix."

Absent this finding, anybody can come along and claim that your mother was not of sound mind and thus, the will should be vacated.

You really need that stamp of approval, thanks to lawyers.

If her estate is small, you may be able to do the work yourself.  If it is a moderate estate and there are no challengers, you could pay a para-legal to help you.

If the estate is large (which is doubtful from your wording of the situation), then you may wish to hire an attorney.  (Yuk!)

Let this be a lesson to YOU, and your friends:  Plan in advance.

Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pathetically Poor Performance.