Mom died and made my sister executrix over her will and she left one other sister as alternate executrix. The executrix name is on the mobile home title and years later before mom died, she went to a lawyer and had a will drawn up. She named all of her children on the will giving us everything equally. She said that included her home place, land and everything that she owned. One cannot even sell unless we are all in agreement. The executrix and the alternate executrix are in agreement about everything including paying the property taxes. When I try to help with that, , The executrix refuses my money. She lives in the home and has remodeled it and is continuing to do so and has done what she pleases with our mother's belongings as if she had been the only heir. When I die, I want my children to have my part in my mom's home place as I know she would have wanted. She trusted her to do the right thing. She has really hurt and surprised me. How can I protect myself now.
It is not clear from your question exactly how your sister (the executrix) is listed on the title to your mother's home. However, that is a critical part of the answer to your question, so I can't really answer you directly. Here's why: if your sister and your mother were listed on the titles to the homeplace as joint owners, and if the title documents (which is a deed for any real estate and usually a title for a mobile home in Georgia, so there may actually be two separate documents involved here) create what is called a "right of survivorship" between them, then your sister would automatically have received 100% ownership of the homeplace at your mother's death. Your mother's Will would have been completely irrelevant. Rights of survivorship and beneficiary designations directly control the assets to which they apply, and will override a Will that provides for a different disposition. There are two other possibilities about how your sister was listed on the title documents: 1. She and your mother were joint owners, but as "tenants in common," which DOES NOT have a right of survivorship. If this was the case, your sister owns half of the property, and the other half is in your mother's estate, subject to her Will, and needs to be handled properly. The executrix could not just ignore the Will in this case, but the Will would only control your mother's half interest, not all of it, and your sister would have significant rights as owner of the other half. 2. Your sister's name was the ONLY name on the title documents: if that is the case, then the property didn't belong to your mother at all at the time of her death, it belonged to your sister, and she can do whatever she wants with it. Whether it was given to her by your mother at some point or whether she got it some other way is a separate question that might need to be investigated.
Now, if your sister's name wasn't actually on the title documents before your mother's death, then it may be that all of the property is in your mother's estate, and in that case, no, it does not sound like your sister is entitled to do what you say she's doing.
To know exactly how the property was owned at your mother's death, you need to see the actual title documents. As stated already, that may mean both a deed (if your mother owned the land the mobile home is on) and a title document (for the mobile home itself). If she won't give you copies, you may have to try to force her. Either way, a good probate attorney with litigation focus should be able to help you figure out what the docs say and how to force them out of your sister if she won't hand them over. Best wishes to you.
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