My father passed away two months ago. We have had a life long great relationship with our father. He married his wife 30 plus years ago. We had a great relationship with her until two years ago when her adult alcoholic son (who is living at the house) molested both my teenage niece and my dad's caregiver. Now that he has passed away she won't let us see a copy of the will. When we asked she said that she would have to talk to her lawyer about it. My dad was a retired pediatrician while his wife was an uneducated telephone receptionist. We, his daughters, are all successful. Are we entitled to a copy of the will? He did discuss the estate prior to his death. He mentioned and insurance policy and splitting of the home that they live in. Obviously, the home etc would all be left to his wife upon his death. I assume he was talking about a trust or will the kicks in when she dies as well? How do we get a copy of these documents?
If your father had a revocable living trust, his Will will only be submitted to probate and become a public document (which you can see online or via the local probate court clerk) if there was property outside the trust which passed not to designated beneficiaries but under the Will.
If your father had a revocable living trust, it became irrevocable on his death. If you were a named beneficiary of that trust and are over a certain age (say, 25), most states would require that you be provided with an annual accounting but not with the trust instrument itself.
Please note that most of the time, particularly if there is a long marriage, a revocable living trust provides that everything passes to the surviving spouse. Sometimes, when there are a lot of assets, the revocable living trust provides that principal or that whatever is left passes to the children on the death of the surviving spouse. Occasionally, something is also given to the children on the death of the first spouse, perhaps so that they will not be "beneficairies in waiting" for the surviving spouse to die.
This is general information. It cannot substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. It is not intended to be legal advice or imply an attorney-client relationship.
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