What could happen here??? please help.

Question

my grandma just died, she had a will, out of the five kids i have an estranged uncle who hasn't seen his mom in 12 years. he is getting something in the will and he is trying to find out the specifics.

however, not included in the will is a sum of of money from a recent land sale, it is stated at the bank that money is payable upon death to the four children, not including my estranged uncle.

Could he sue????

what could happen here??

Answer 1

The will controls as long as there was no undue influence on her at the time she wrote the will or she was not in her right mind when you wrote it.  I don't care how good a lawyer that this uncle gets, he is out of luck.  Even if he sets the will aside, under most states' laws, all the assets go to the kids.  Sounds like he is a mooch looking for more than he is entitled.

Answer 2

Sorry about your grandma... well, unfortunately he can sue. However, as long as your parent and other aunts and uncles oppose him, you should be ok. As long as he isn't economically stable, he won't be able to get a good lawyer to try and get him some money. You have the upper-hand. A case like this can take years before ever actually going to court. Not only that, but your grandmother left the money to her other four children so you can use that in court to specify that she never intended to give him any money. My advice to you is not to worry- Unless he can get a really good lawyer and has a good case, he won't be able to do much. Hope I was able to ease your troubles. :)

Answer 3

Anybody can sue for anything, but he will not win because the money from the land sale is not part of the estate to be divided up.  In essence, she gave it to you in trust when she opened the account.

Answer 4

A will is a Will, and he could probate that will, however he would have to have a good attorney.

The best thing that can be done is to divide all assets as soon as possible leaving him out, but giving him what is owed to him through the will.  

Warning if the will was not notarized and or filed by an attorney it could be null and void, and just a last written statement.