Please Read, need advise or a good attorney

by Icansaylucky 23 Replies latest jw experiences

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  jgnat

  I'm sure they have justified this in their mind that they are pioneers and that this is Jehovah's way of providing for them.

  Sharp insight, Icansaylucky.
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  looking_glass

  Just for clarification, when I said "witnesses" I was not referring to JWs, I was referring to "eye witnesses" or lay persons who were present during the signing of her will. Additionally, if she had contact with people other then JWs. People don't necessary have to testify, if your ex can get them to agree to speak to his atty, the atty can prepare an affidavit or they can do a witness statement which affirms his belief that his mother was mentally incompetent and was not sound mind and body when she rewrote her will.

  I am not as familiar with probabe, but I recently went thru the probate courts in IL for my grandmother's estate. Generally, the procedure is to file the will with the probate court, appt. an administrator for the estate, notify all parties who hold an interest (usually you have to post in the paper in the county where the person resided). It is not a quick, in and out deal. The notice period can take up to 3/6 months to expire, depending on the state you are in. And probate is expensive. If anything your ex can contest the will, depending on how much he wants to fight it, he can keep it tied up for a long time.

  There are some groups that do deal solely with elder law. Find out the county your mother resided in, call that county's bar association and ask them if they can refer you to either an elder law firm or a probate firm. There is something in Chicago called the Chicago Legal Clinic and they take cases on a special needs basis. They provide legal services at a reduced (or not cost) basis for people who have cases similar to this. You may want to find out if there is something like that in your mother's area.
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  Icansaylucky

  Looking_glass, she had so little contact with anyone other than Jehovah Witnesses. I'm not sure there would be any "civilian" witnesses that could talk to his attorney. I'll ask him if he has any ideas. I know that 2 years ago she was in a bad accident, she hit a city bus and caused several injuries. It was the 3rd accident she had caused. She lost her license for good. There was a large judgement that for some reason the insurance company closed the claim as uncollectable, she had plenty of money so I don't know how she skated out of that one unless they decided she was mentally imcompetent. I don't think he'll want to call the insurance company though and open that can of worms, I'm not sure if they could reopen the judgement. I'll have him check with the county bar and see if they can make some recommendation.
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  looking_glass

  Does your ex have her will? If so, he needs to look at who was present during the signing? He needs to talk to the attorney who prepared her will and try to track down the people who witnessed the signing of the will.

  And as for incompetent, most states require a hearing and then the court enters an order regarding competency and a guardian is appointed.

  Bottom line, nothing is going to happen right away. There are steps to every process w/i the legal community. As for a probate matter, he needs to find the last will, file it with the probate court and then proceed from there.

  He needs to call the banks and other financial institutions and let them know she has passed and they will put a hold on everything. Most likely they will want a certified copy of her death certificate which can be picked up at the county clerk's office or the office of vital records in the county that she died in. Unless there is a second signatory on a bank account, no bank will allow funds to go out without a court order.

  Again, he needs to speak with a probate atty. We can speculate all we want as to what can or may happen, but in the end, it is up to the judge sitting on the bench to decide whether there is merit to his claim.