Alabama Estate Litigation Legal Questions

I'm sorry for your loss.  You and your sister are her heirs and have the right to her property once any creditors are paid.  If you have a sibling that passed and left children, those children are heirs too.   You will need to go through the probate process for an intestate (left no Will) estate.  This will provide notice to creditors and appoint you or your sister as the executor of the estate.  The executor has the legal authority to sell and distribute estate assets.  Nolo.com has some good information about the probate process, as does your state probate website.  Good luck.  ... Read More

If your father was still living when your grandparents both died, which it sounds like is the case, then your father was entitled to his share.  If he passed away after that, then his estate is entitled to that share or whatever is left of it, if he received it before his death.  Upon his death, if he had no Will, his wife (if she is not your mother) is entitled to half of his probate estate and his children divide the other half.  Please note that probate assets do not include assets in trust, or any assets that your father owned jointly with his wife.  If, for instance, he put the funds he inherited from his parents into a joint savings account owned by both he and his wife, those funds became hers automaticallly when he died.  They are not probate assets.  Assets that name a beneficiary or that have a pay-on-death designation also are not probate assets.  Instead, they go to the person named as the beneficiary.  Only assets owned in your father's name alone are probate assets, subject to administration pursuant to the laws of probate.   It sounds like his wife was appointed executor of his estate by the probate court.  Legal notice must be given to heirs and there is penalty for not doing so.  Executors must administer the estate in accordance with the law of intestacy, and the court can order an executor to do so or remove an executor who does not follow the law.  All of these actions are within the jurisdiction of the probate court for the county where your father lived.  As an heir, you are able to file requests to the court to address these issues.  You may need a lawyer's assistance in drafting them, or the court may have forms that you can use.  Good luck.  ... Read More

There are several issues of concern in your statement. Sometimes another person is given the right to sign for Social Security and it is likely his wife would have been granted this ability. Retirement checks are an entirely different matter and would have required a Power of Attorney to actually take the paper check and cash it. However, in this day and age both retirement and Social Security checks are most often directly deposited into a bank account - that could have been a joint account with his spouse. There is no duty to contact any of you with regard to this matter. As far as removing the personal effects from the house, that depends on to whom they belonged. Under most state laws, his wife would have the rights to his personal property, unless there was some sort of prenuptial contract. As far as having the right to remove property from the home of someone who has died, the legal authority would fall under Alabama's property and inheritance laws. If there was a Will or a Trust, those documents would indicate heirs and beneficiaries. If there is a Will or no Will at all, a Court would have to probate to determine who has a right to the estate's assets. Still, depending on how long your father has been in the nursing home, your stepmother's children may have had house keys and been in and out, caring for her, helping with maintenance, or buying her things. Whether or not they actually do, they may believe they have a right to collect what they contributed. I know of a son who took care of his mother for 15 years with no help from siblings. He lived in the house with her and bathed, dressed, carried, cooked, cleaned, and chauffeured her. He remodeled the kitchen, bathrooms, halls and entries for wheelchair access. He paid for or did the maintenance and upkeep, paid off her car, paid all her medical and utility bills, etc. You couldn't look at the house and tell who owned what. Still, nothing was in his name, so when his mom died without a Trust or a Will the Court ordered her assets divided evenly between all 4 siblings, according to the state law. So you see, things can get very complicated, very quickly. Move carefully to preserve cordial relations. Right now her children are grieving and you are confused and surprised at the turn of events. You need an Alabama attorney experienced in both estate law and elder law to help you deal with this as a business situation and not an emotional one. I hope that, if this answer doesn't exactly shed light, it does give you some direction into the complexity of your situation, so that you get the skilled assistance you need. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/GaleAllison ... Read More