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My mother just passed away, My father passed 4 years ago, leaving everything to her somehow. She owned a house a car and about 30,000 dollars of other stuff like a 10,000 dollar organ etc. My younger brother thinks he can live there free of charge for the rest of his life, and sell off stuff as his money needs dictate, There are 4 surviving sons in this case, The one who is the executor says he doesn't have a will either The property is in Idaho. What should I do? The older will just states that she is leaving everything to her surviving sons. If I do nothing they will lose the house and sell everything in it, its all paid for but they will lose it when the taxes are due. Unless I pay them.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Idaho Already Tried: I have talked to him to see what his intentions are.He is saying that the only will he can find is from 1992 and is no longer valid since 3 family members have died since then. My mother told me she rewrote it 2 months ago and specified that the 2 alcoholic felony dui members would get nothing. Because they would just drink it away and use it to pay court costs and fines.
HelloCustomer
First of all just because family members named in a Will pass away, does not invalidate a Will. If the only Will that can be found is from 1992, and that Will was properly executed, it is a valid Will and must be admitted to the Court. The house title cannot transfer without Probate either. If the 1992 Will states that surviving sons inherit, then all the sons take per the Will. No one has the right to live in the house, rent free, and the Executor named in the Will, has a duty to admit the Will to Probate. Whichever way the Will distributes property is how the Court will order the property distributed.
You as an interested party and beneficiary should seek a probate attorney in the County where your Mother lived at the time of her death immediately. Unfortunately, if you cannot find an updated Will, her intentions to disinherit will not be honored.
Please seek a consultation with an attorney, even if the 1992 Will was invalid the intestacy laws of Idaho would prevail in this situation. Intestacy is when you die without a will.
In Idaho the intestacy law states:
15-2-103. SHARE OF HEIRS OTHER THAN SURVIVING SPOUSE. The part of theintestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse under section 15-2-102 ofthis part, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse,passes as follows:(a) To the issue of the decedent; if they are all of the same degree ofkinship to the decedent they take equally, but if of unequal degree, thenthose of more remote degree take by representation;(b) If there is no surviving issue, to his parent or parents equally;(c) If there is no surviving issue or parent, to the issue of the parentsor either of them by representation;(d) If there is no surviving issue, parent or issue of a parent, but thedecedent is survived by one (1) or more grandparents or issue of grandparents,half of the estate passes to the paternal grandparents if both survive, or tothe surviving paternal grandparent, or to the issue of the paternalgrandparents if both are deceased, the issue taking equally if they are all ofthe same degree of kinship to the decedent, but if of unequal degree those ofmore remote degree take by representation; and the other half passes to thematernal relatives in the same manner; but if there be no survivinggrandparent or issue of grandparents on either the paternal or the maternalside, the entire estate passes to the relatives on the other side in the samemanner as the half.
So in your case, all surviving sons share in the Estate equally, with or without a Will. You have a 1/4 interest in the house, and belongings. It is to your benefit to seek legal help right away.
There is one surviving grandparent, My mothers mother is still alive. How does that effect the situation?
It doesn't......if the deceased left children, the distribution stops there. The four surviving sons inherit equally either under the existing Will as you described or through the laws of intestacy.
Experience: Wills, Trusts, Probate, Inheritance Issues