QUESTION
My step-mother''s caretakers convinced her to change her will 10 days after I visited with her, and 2 weeks before she died, excluding me as an heir.
Asked on Apr 25th, 2012 on Trusts and Estates - New Jersey
More details to this question:
Step-mother was deaf and blind, and was totally dependent on her caretakers. One individual accused me of upsetting her when I visited, and threw me out of the house, threatening to call the police. Step-mother told me that her attorney would call me when she died, but that never happened. The Will was probated before I confirmed her death. Her attorney is kin to the next-door neightbor, who got the house and all of its contents. She had given away all of her jewelry and valuables by the time I saw her. I believe that she was "encouraged" to do so by the caretakers. She lived in New Jersey; I live in South Carolina.. Am I out of luck?
1 ANSWER
2 Awards
You are absolutely NOT out of luck ! This is a case of undue influence if I ever saw one ! You need to file a challenge to the will and seek to have the executor removed. There are two elements to a case of undue influence: was the person in a "confidential relationship" with the testator (the person writing the will); and are there suspicious circumstances. You have both. If your step-mother was deaf and blind, and dependent on her care givers, the care givers were in a confidential relationship with her. Not notifying you of her death is a very suspicious thing to have occurred as is the connection between the attorney and the neighbor. This is a case where your fees could be paid from the estate. you do not need to come to the State of new Jersey to pursue this claim, but you should, because it sounds like your step-mother was taken advantage of by her care givers.
Answered on Apr 26th, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Diana L. Anderson, Certified Elder Law Attorney This response is not legal advice and does not establish any form of attorney/client relationship