Posted: 12/23/2010 6:43:17 PM EDT
|
Long story short. My great grand father died 10 years ago and my great grandmother (his wife) died a couple of weeks ago. There are 3 sisters.
What the family is worried about is there is a child that great grandmother had to give up for adoption at birth (other then the 3 girls). He surfaced about 11 years ago, seemed like he was looking for more then a relationship with his long lost family. I saw him one time and never saw him again. To my knowledge no one has heard from him in about 10 years. My grandmother said that in one of the few conversations that she has had with him, he made a comment about that he could contest the will. Is this true ? My family had the will written with extra care to protect the estate from him. Is there anything that we should be preparing for ? Does he have any legal rights, even if he was carefully written out of the will? |
| You'll need to discuss this with the attorney that handles the probate of the will. However, in most states, adoption cuts off the legal relationship between the adopted child and the birth mother. If there was not a formal adoption, then things get more complicated depending upon the exact terms of the will. |
|
Talk to an attorney and let them review the will. My will explicitly states that anyone who contests the will automatically gets nothing. This was recommended by my estate planning attorney. It sounds harsh, but I expect my children to be civil and courteous to each other. |
|
Man you guys are giving out some good wisdom.
I just lost my father in law a year ago. And our Oregon attorney had some awesome clauses. Love the dispute clause that triggers forfeiture - as you have mentioned above. I'm licensed in OH and WA and in those states, if you are adopted by another family, you can inherit through them but not your birth parents. But as as added precaution, most attorneys specifically call out persons who are NOT to recieve any property, bequeaths, or money from the estate. Little left anyone can do if you say - I don't want Mike to get a darn thing. It is your will. Your will, your wishes. Above is not legal advice just some friendly comments |