Will Contest Provision

[fduxx34]

My mother died over 4 years ago, she had a will, and my father had already passed away 6 years prior. The estate was to equally divided to the 5 children, one of which has passed away just 1 year ago. The executor, the now oldest sibling, has not divided the estate, selling of the house most importantly. It was appraised and valued at 200,000, 4 years ago. She also received a lump sum of approximately 40,000.

Not wanting to sound greedy, but we all have those times in life where a little helping hand financially would make a world of difference.

My question is, am I not entitled to atleast 1/5 th of the value of my mothers home/estate? Is there not some time frame in which an estate is expected to executed?

The thread title was meant for this reason.

I have asked my older sibling, the executor, to fulfill mothers wishes, and divide the estate, more precicely, sell my mothers house.

I was informed by the executor, that I am in jeopardy of violating a specific provision.

WILL CONTEST PROVISION, which states....

If any beneficiary or remainderman under this Will in any manner, directly or inderectly, contests or attacks this Will or any of its provisions, any share or interest in my estate given to that contesting beneficiary or remainderman under this Will is revoked and shall be disposed of in the same manner provided herein as if that contestion beneficiary or remainderman had predeceased me without issue.

By asking that the house be sold, and the monies from such sale be divided, in hopes to avoid foreclosure on my own home, am I in violation of this provision?

[fduxx34]

This is in the State of Pennsylvania, and I was also wondering what amount of value is considered worthy of hiring an attorney for assistance on this matter. Assuming that my interest in the home was approximately 40,000, before any taxes or fees of course.

Would doing the grunt work myself and only paying for hourly consultation be more reasonable? Or is it possible I me need more hands on assistance with understanding all the legal jargon that is in the Will itself?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Challenging the actions (or inactions) of the executor is not the same thing as challenging a provision of the will.

You say that your sibling is executor of the will, and apparently some distributions have been made; but has the will actually been probated? That is, has a legal action been started to formally distribute the estate? It would be unusual for a relatively simple estate distribution to drag on this long.

[fduxx34]

Let me see if I can give more information.

There was 5 adult siblings, one had since passed away, without receiving her share of the Estate.

The home, is currently home to my younger sibling, and has been since mom passed away.

The home is paid for, so the only expenses are taxes and the utilities.

My older sibling, the executor, pays the taxes, grudgingly, but will not say anything to my younger sibling that resides in my mothers house.

We now refer to my mothers house as my younger siblings house, since it has been 4 years. She makes no effort to move, and has lived rent free all these years. As I said, I am not trying to be greedy, but I find myself in some serious financial struggles at this time, well for almost a year now, and unfortunately, the only answer to my financial woes is to acquire more money. I am considering bankruptcy, but I am understanding that doing so will force the sale of my mothers home, so as my creditors will regain some of their losses, from my assumed inheiritance.

I would like to avoid the bankruptcy, and the ugliness of this, unfortunately I am running out of options, and most importantly, time.

Any more advice would be helpful, ty!

[lwpat]

Your first step is to visit the probate court and get all the records. This is highly unusual and probate may not have even been started. Either way, you need to talk to the clerk that is handling the probate and find out exactly what is happening. The younger sibling owes the estate the fair market value of the rent and this should be deducted from their share. If they want the house, they should get a mortgage and purchase it from the estate. You have been more than patient.