Inheritance?

First, I am encouraging my Mother to talk to an attorney.

Opinions are appreciated. I have a Grandparent who passed away. My Father passed away a couple of years ago. My parents were married only once and were married for almost 50 years. Father has multiple siblings. Grandparent had a will and a decent chunk of change.

My Mother has been involved with my grandparent basically as if my Father was still here. I have a good, ethical Mother. I am blessed to have been raised by this woman.

So, from what we have been told, my Mother is an heir in the Will. 1 of the Sons is the executor of the Will. My Mother was called to come pick up a check for her share. She was given 2 cashiers checks in different amounts by a sibling that is not the executor and told this is her share.

My Mother was told at the funeral, with my very intelligent sibling that my Mother would receive x amount of dollars by a sibling who is not the executor or the sibling who gave my Mother the 2 checks. We have also been told over the years that a 4th sibling already received their share years ago due to financial issues.

Bottom line is my Mother has never seen the Will, the amount she was told at the funeral is 1/4 of what she received, the Will is not going to Probate, and 2 of the siblings are dead broke.

Am I wrong in thinking something is fishy? My thoughts are that the Will is not being probated due to my Grandparents wishes are not being carried out and the "LAW" would put a damper on the plan.

Many more back stories including flat out greed and unethical living.

I know if my Mother asks for a copy of the Will and financials all Heck is going to break loose, but I feel my Mother should be treated ethically. Why the 2 checks? Why not 1 check?

Good advice to at least consult with an attorney. I don't know for sure but I would think that she would have some legal recourse to require the will be probated by a judge, especially if she is named in it.

I know that a will is not absolutely required to be probated, as long as everyone, and that means everyone who could potentially be an heir is in agreement. But sounds like that may not be the case here. They should at least let her read it to see if she goes along with everyone else.

They need to use an attorney who deals in that sort of stuff. They will charge a fee but it is worth the peace of mind knowing all was done properly.

This is especially true if real estate is involved.

oh... go ahead and trust them to do the right thing... no one ever lies about money (sarc)

I’m not an attorney but I just went through this and here is my understanding. Keep in mind that a heir and beneficiary are two very different things. An heir is someone who is legally entitled to all or a portion of the deceased property per state law (Intestate Succession) A beneficiary on the other hand is the person or persons named in a will. Just because someone is listed in a will doesn’t make them an heir. In Georgia, the children and/or spouse are first in line as heirs. Children receive equal parts and I would suspect your mother received your dads portion. If there had been no children it would then go to your grandfathers siblings equally. Look up rules of Inheritance in Georgia and you will see how it flows based on how the family is structured.

If someone is a legal heir but not listed as a beneficiary in the will they have the right to contest the will in court. There shouldn’t be any problem with your mother seeing the will because as they say “It is what it is” and the estate will need to go through Probate to be settled. The local Probate judge should be able to answer most any question your mother or yourself have without an attorney. Try to get a copy of the will and make an appointment with the judge in whatever county your grandfather lived.

I am an estate attorney. Your mother can go to the probate court where the will was probated and get a copy of the will.

In situations like this, I routinely request the executor to be transparent as required by law. The executor took an oath to carry out the terms of the will as required by law. The will may relieve the executor from filing reports with the court, but it does not relieve the executor of their legal duty to be transparent to beneficiaries.

She needs representation!