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My 95 year old great aunt died recently in the state of Maryland; her husband and two children preceded her in death, and her children did not have any off springs. A great nephew of unsavory character connived to win my great Aunt's confidence within the last couple of years and has now come forward with 3 wills; the most recent one has him inheriting all my great aunt's estate ($750,000)yet, this conniving great nephew cannot get bonded by any bonding company to proceed in probate court to probate the will and the estate. Well, today, I called the courts for an update; the courts closed my great aunt’s estate yesterday-July 27, 2009. In natural succession of next of kin is an 80 year old dutiful niece through the years to my deceased great aunt. However, she is not inheriting but an unbondable great-nephew of suspicious character is? Go figure. What happens next when circumstances occur with an unbondable representive/executor of an estate who a beneficiary?
Optional Information: State/Country of Question: Maryland Already Tried: There are 3 other great nieces' names listed as alternates that can come forward if this great nephew does not get ever bonded. I do not believe that he has informed the other alternates because he has gone into seclusion and secrecy, and the estate has closed for now; the alternates could come forward to open it up at some point. However, no one has so far or I suspect that they may not be in knowledge of this factor. I only know about my great aunt’s will filing details and so does my 80 year old aunt and her son because we have been calling and checking with the court. If no one comes forward and the estate stays closed, will the state take the estate over? We have had suggestions that a letter could be written to the court explaining the situation. And perhaps the will(s) could get set aside and inheritance of next to kin and natural succession would take place. Oh by the way, the most recent will leaving everything to this great nephew has been drawn up by another lawyer other than the lawyer of my great aunt’s plus a letter from a doctor who was not her regular doctor accompanies this last will stating that my aunt was in a sound state of mind when the new will was written. Due to My great aunt’s advanced age she was no longer in a regular state of mind; in fact, she was in an alternate state of mind and there are lots of witness which could attest to that fact.
If the estate is closed, then the issue is moot. No one challenged the Will as fraudulent or the product of undue influence, and the great nephew gets all the marbles.
Hope this helps.
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No, you have misunderstood. I do not mean the estate is closed due to a the process of probate being over and completed; the will remains unprobated. The fact that this great nephew opened up a new estate and presented 3 wills, the newest will and 2 formers wills; the most recent will relected the date of 10/27/08 which has him inheriting everything. My great aunt passed away, suspicoulsy, 5/29/09.
The estate has been closed presently due to the fact that the will remains unprobated because the great nephew cannot get bonded due to not being able to get pass a credit check and a background check. The estate has been closed not because it has been successfully probated; it has been closed because the person who is representing himself as the intended Personal Representaive to, thus, move the will and estate through the probate process, has failed to meet the criteria for getting bonded. The Will cannot become validated until a "bonded" Personal Representative emerges. Now, it is a strong possibility that since there has been no public family reading of the will that those alternates who were named to be alternate Personal Represntatives may be unaware of the facts that if the intended could not serve as Personal Representatives, they had the option to do so. Since my 80 year old aunt who was a faithful niece to my deceased great aunt and is the remaining closest next of kin to my great aunt is not listed in any of my great aunts wills, and neither am I as a great niece, we are Interested Parties.
There appear to be two issues:
1. The possibility that the Will is fraudulent or the product of undue influence;
2. The need for a personal representative (or administrator if the Will is deemed invalid).
In either case, it's up to the other interested parties to advance their interests and positions to the court -- otherwise nothing will happen, other than that if the named personal representative cannot obtain a bond, that the court will appoint a personal representative to administer the estate. But, again, if the Will is deemed valid, then the great nephew will take all the marbles.
If you, or some other relative wants to challenge the Will, then you must file a petition to contest the Will and try to prove it is invalid. Otherwise, eventually, the great nephew will manage to get someone else appointed who will collect the estate and then distribute it to the great nephew.
For a probate lawyer referral, see: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lris/directory/main.cfm?id=MD
Experience: Retired (mostly)