Question about a WILL{Long Read} any feedback would be appreciated

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Wow, I enjoyed the story, hope everything falls through for you.

[quote name='Rosterking']Wow, I enjoyed the story, hope everything falls through for you.[/QUOTE]

Thanks a lot I really appreciate it. I hope more people will respond back.

I'm glad to see that you stayed strong through dealing with this guy. If I was in your position, I, on the other hand, would not have been so forgiving, and would have made sure he suffered to the utmost degree in his final months. He truly sounds like a miserable bastard.

Good for you though, pulling through it all.

standard "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer applies here. The executor of the will is simply the person who carries out the terms of the will. They take care of things like remaining debts, taxes, and paperwork. What you should be interested in are the distribution of assets and who the beneficiaries are. I'd imagine most of the stuff was owned jointly between him and your mom, so she should get it all. Once the terms of the will have been carried out and his estate closed, the assets belong to who they belong to. If you mom got both houses, its up to her what to do with it in her will. Again, I am not a lawyer.

SolidSnake86 said:

I'm glad to see that you stayed strong through dealing with this guy. If I was in your position, I, on the other hand, would not have been so forgiving, and would have made sure he suffered to the utmost degree in his final months. He truly sounds like a miserable bastard.

Good for you though, pulling through it all.

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Thanks.

Salamando3000 said:

standard "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer applies here. The executor of the will is simply the person who carries out the terms of the will. They take care of things like remaining debts, taxes, and paperwork. What you should be interested in are the distribution of assets and who the beneficiaries are. I'd imagine most of the stuff was owned jointly between him and your mom, so she should get it all. Once the terms of the will have been carried out and his estate closed, the assets belong to who they belong to. If you mom got both houses, its up to her what to do with it in her will. Again, I am not a lawyer.

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Thanks.

I second what Salamando3000 said about looking at the distribution of assets. That's where you'll really see if he's screwing your mom or not, but it sounds like she was given power-of-attorney with everything that isn't being signed over to anyone else. Is the will in legalese?

*Not a lawyer.

[quote name='dohdough']I second what Salamando3000 said about looking at the distribution of assets. That's where you'll really see if he's screwing your mom or not, but it sounds like she was given power-of-attorney with everything that isn't being signed over to anyone else. Is the will in legalese?

*Not a lawyer.[/QUOTE]


Im sorry but Im not sure what "legalese" means?

He made a joke. He's asking if the will is in all legal mumbo jumbo. I hope everything works out for you too! I would of just shown up to court that day and said I hope he gets the maximum sentence!

He doesn't want your help. He said so very plainly in the will. I wouldn't help him if I were you.

Collectorguy00 said:

He made a joke. He's asking if the will is in all legal mumbo jumbo. I hope everything works out for you too! I would of just shown up to court that day and said I hope he gets the maximum sentence!

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Thanks again.

I agree with what others have said, distribution of assets is where you really ought to be interested to see what your mom will receive. But it sounds like her and her daughter (assuming shes your sister here) will really be handling most of the responsibilities from the will. Hope it all works out for you, kudos for handling a rough situation really well!

It wasn't really a joke.

What I was asking is if it was written in a way that only lawyers would be able to understand. If it wasn't, then I strongly recommend that you attempt to read and understand it yourself as four pages doesn't sound that overwhelming. If you can't, I also strongly recommend that you find a lawyer on your own to help explain it.

I hope things work out for you.

GamerDude316 said:

I agree with what others have said, distribution of assets is where you really ought to be interested to see what your mom will receive. But it sounds like her and her daughter (assuming shes your sister here) will really be handling most of the responsibilities from the will. Hope it all works out for you, kudos for handling a rough situation really well!

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Thank you.

Not sure if I understand what happened because your story isn't that clear, but did he hand write on a printed will? Depending on the state laws, he might have screwed up.

Long story short:

My Grandfather had a will drafted up by an attorney years before his death. He was a hateful old man, and when it was close to his time he decided to hand write changes on the will to make sure my Grandmother got nothing of his. Well, just so happens that the law says you can either have a hand written will or a printed will, but if you write changes on the printed document it becomes invalid. My Grandmother became the the sole beneficiary of all his possessions by default since there was no valid will.

Your Mom is the executor. Once the Will is probated the assets will be distributed as per the instructions in the Will. If the Will is found to be invalid then you need to look at state distribution laws. There is nothing you can do to change things. So just sit back and relax. P.S. your mom can hire an attorney of her choosing to probate the will.

[quote name='blindinglights']Not sure if I understand what happened because your story isn't that clear, but did he hand write on a printed will? Depending on the state laws, he might have screwed up.

Long story short:

My Grandfather had a will drafted up by an attorney years before his death. He was a hateful old man, and when it was close to his time he decided to hand write changes on the will to make sure my Grandmother got nothing of his. Well, just so happens that the law says you can either have a hand written will or a printed will, but if you write changes on the printed document it becomes invalid. My Grandmother became the the sole beneficiary of all his possessions by default since there was no valid will.[/QUOTE]

The problem with your Grandfather's Will was that he altered the will post "perfection". That's a big no no. You cannot simply correct a Will. In such a case you need to draw up a new Will. I know logically it sounds ass backwards but in practice it works really well for many reasons.

[quote name='blindinglights']Not sure if I understand what happened because your story isn't that clear, but did he hand write on a printed will? Depending on the state laws, he might have screwed up.

Long story short:

My Grandfather had a will drafted up by an attorney years before his death. He was a hateful old man, and when it was close to his time he decided to hand write changes on the will to make sure my Grandmother got nothing of his. Well, just so happens that the law says you can either have a hand written will or a printed will, but if you write changes on the printed document it becomes invalid. My Grandmother became the the sole beneficiary of all his possessions by default since there was no valid will.[/QUOTE]

Ahahaha that's awesome.

[quote name='kill3r7']The problem with your Grandfather's Will was that he altered the will post "perfection". That's a big no no. You cannot simply correct a Will. In such a case you need to draw up a new Will. I know logically it sounds ass backwards but in practice it works really well for many reasons.[/QUOTE]

Some states, i.e. PA, would have possibly allowed the Grandfather's handwritten changes to be probated, particularly if he just struckthrough specific words or phrases.

[quote name='KCS13']Some states, i.e. PA, would have possibly allowed the Grandfather's handwritten changes to be probated, particularly if he just struckthrough specific words or phrases.[/QUOTE]

Do the changes need to be witnessed? I'm only familiar with NY law (or at least what i remember of it from law school).

Yeah I'd think there would need to be a witness or something, otherwise what's to stop someone from changing it after the person dies?

[quote name='kill3r7']Do the changes need to be witnessed? I'm only familiar with NY law (or at least what i remember of it from law school).[/QUOTE]

I'm in law school right now in PA and in Estates and Trusts. It's my understanding that PA is one of the loosest states in regards to interpreting wills. A will does not even need to be witnessed by anyone if signed by the testator, though it is typical procedure to do so. Changes to a will need not be witnessed either, however; the will must be re-executed (signing by the changes suffices, iirc) if there is a cancellation and then a subsequent addition. Specifically, the case of In re: Crist's Estate was mentioned in class (and is what I referenced earlier), where the decedent struckthrough certain provisions and even added some writing (in one section a legacy of $4000 was made and decedent wrote above the "$4000" $1000 and the court determined that it was meant to be an additional $1000 to the $4000 legacy).

On a side note, our professor told us a story that somewhere in PA a desk was probated because a person etched their last will and testament into it and signed at the bottom LOL

[quote name='KCS13']I'm in law school right now in PA and in Estates and Trusts. It's my understanding that PA is one of the loosest states in regards to interpreting wills. A will does not even need to be witnessed by anyone if signed by the testator, though it is typical procedure to do so. Changes to a will need not be witnessed either, however; the will must be re-executed (signing by the changes suffices, iirc) if there is a cancellation and then a subsequent addition. Specifically, the case of In re: Crist's Estate was mentioned in class (and is what I referenced earlier), where the decedent struckthrough certain provisions and even added some writing (in one section a legacy of $4000 was made and decedent wrote above the "$4000" $1000 and the court determined that it was meant to be an additional $1000 to the $4000 legacy).

On a side note, our professor told us a story that somewhere in PA a desk was probated because a person etched their last will and testament into it and signed at the bottom LOL[/QUOTE]

It never seizes to amaze me how quirky the law is from state to state. Either way, that's a great story.

[quote name='kill3r7']It never seizes to amaze me how quirky the law is from state to state. Either way, that's a great story.[/QUOTE]

I totally agree. As much as I understand the desire/need for state's rights, it would be so much easier for everybody involved to have one set of laws that govern all citizens regardless of what state they live in even if it involves a state law question.

I'm just a regular joe, the info I mention below is just based on things that came up during my parents executing the wills of both sets of grandparents. They didn't run into any problems, but they talked a lot about "had this happened, here's what would have needed to be done". And of course, things they learned from their lawyer while drafting up their own wills.

As everyone else mentioned, the distribution of assets is the important thing. If he specifically leaves certain items or amounts of money to people, the executer is there to enforce that happens as requested. I think the will can also explicitly say DON'T give anything to specific people.

So at this point, while it may not specifically leave you anything, it's a win for you if he hasn't specifically said DO NOT GIVE YOU ANYTHING. I doubt he'd do that, as your mom would know and she'd probably hassle him about it. You know the saying...happy wife, happy life

Once the will is executed, if your mom wanted to pass anything left to her on to you, there's no reason she can't...at that point it's her money/assets.

The reason they commonly mention multiple alternates as executer is if there's a major accident and multiple people on the will die at the same time. So if your mom and step dad died in the same car accident (unlikely if he's in the hospital), then the alternate would execute the will.

If that were to happen, here's where a law person would need to clarify what would happen. My understanding is blood trumps marriage. So if they both died and he had planned to leave everything to your mom and did not list alternate people after her, I'm not sure if the estate goes to YOU (blood relative of mom), or if they have to track down if HE has any blood relatives left (brother/sister)? I've heard horror stories about the state stepping in and holding funds until someone can stake claim to them, which is why a lawyer will always force you to be VERY SPECIFIC in your will on where assets go and covering all possibilities.

[quote name='KCS13']I'm in law school right now in PA and in Estates and Trusts. It's my understanding that PA is one of the loosest states in regards to interpreting wills. A will does not even need to be witnessed by anyone if signed by the testator, though it is typical procedure to do so. Changes to a will need not be witnessed either, however; the will must be re-executed (signing by the changes suffices, iirc) if there is a cancellation and then a subsequent addition. Specifically, the case of In re: Crist's Estate was mentioned in class (and is what I referenced earlier), where the decedent struckthrough certain provisions and even added some writing (in one section a legacy of $4000 was made and decedent wrote above the "$4000" $1000 and the court determined that it was meant to be an additional $1000 to the $4000 legacy).

On a side note, our professor told us a story that somewhere in PA a desk was probated because a person etched their last will and testament into it and signed at the bottom LOL[/QUOTE]
So what would stop , say someone's kids, from changing a parent's will after they've died? How would you prove it had been changed by someone other than the now dead parent? That seems like it would leave things open to all sorts of shady practices.

Although the idea of inscribing my will on giant granite tablet is rather interesting...lol.

[quote name='Clak']So what would stop , say someone's kids, from changing a parent's will after they've died? How would you prove it had been changed by someone other than the now dead parent? That seems like it would leave things open to all sorts of shady practices.

Although the idea of inscribing my will on giant granite tablet is rather interesting...lol.[/QUOTE]

It is a very weird system and as of right now I'm not exactly sure what measures are implemented to ensure that the testator is actually the one making the cancellations as opposed to some other interested party.

[quote name='Clak']So what would stop , say someone's kids, from changing a parent's will after they've died? How would you prove it had been changed by someone other than the now dead parent? That seems like it would leave things open to all sorts of shady practices.

Although the idea of inscribing my will on giant granite tablet is rather interesting...lol.[/QUOTE]

I am assuming that any word or portion that's struck through must be initialed and dated. Again, this is why voiding the Will is a better solution.

My curiosity's piqued...Assuming two people are married, what type of scenario is needed so that one can write their spouse out of the will so they get nothing? Is just having your name on bank accounts or any property enough? Also sounds like it could help OP if he knows his stepfather just can't give everything away to a nephew or the Army.

[quote name='Salamando3000']My curiosity's piqued...Assuming two people are married, what type of scenario is needed so that one can write their spouse out of the will so they get nothing? Is just having your name on bank accounts or any property enough? Also sounds like it could help OP if he knows his stepfather just can't give everything away to a nephew or the Army.[/QUOTE]

He can give away anything that's his, to anyone he chooses. Usually joint assets go to the surviving party regardless of what the Will stipulates.

Thanks again for all the replies cag'ers.