I am assuming that you searched hard for your dad's signed Will by going back to the lawyer that drafted the Will, advertising in the bar journal for a lawyer who may have assisted your father and so forth, until you were certain that the signed Will did not exist anywhere.
If you did not do that, you might want to do it now, anyhow. If you know for a fact that your father changed his Will, pursuing this course of action should turn up a lawyer with possession of the actual, current Will or a signed copy. But in the absence of the most recent Will, if you have no one who could testify to the existence of the newer Will and the revocation of the prior Will, then you are stuck with the situation.
I would be much more concerned, however, about the fact that your beloved brother seems to have disappeared. I would call the police and file a missing person report.
The legal bottom line is that your brother has legal ownership of the house whether you finish the probate or not. If your brother is dead, and depending on whether he has a wife or descendants, you may be a person who inherits from him in the absence of him making a Will. If that is the case, you can conclude probate of your father's estate and open a probate for your brother's estate. I would suggest you take a stronger interest in the whereabouts of your brother. Whether he is found or not found, you will need a good Alabama probate attorney to help you close these probates.
At the end of the day, Anthony, you can always move, but you can never replace your brother.
To Your Success,
Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com
Answered on Apr 25th, 2012 at 4:51 PM