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My question involves estate proceedings in the state of: new york
I am a beneficiary of my grandmothers estate, her daughters are claiming no will exists. The lawyer who wrote it has a copy, we spoke briefly on the phone. As a beneficiary am I entitled to a copy and how do I obtain it from the lawyer?
You are not the client of the lawyer and the lawyer has no obligation to provide you with a copy of the will. Indeed, the rule of confidentiality that governs legal practice may prevent the lawyer from providing you a copy of it. I don’t know New York’s rule in that regard as it pertains to wills after the death of the client (the lawyer certainly cannot give you a copy while your grandmother is alive unless she authorizes the lawyer to do it).
Note that generally a copy of the will does you no good anyway. The original is what the court needs. That’s because your grandmother could have decided to revoke the will by destroying the original of it.
If you have reason to believe a will does exist then you may bring an action in court to compel the person holding the will to produce it. But you’ll need to have some evidence the will exists and who is holding it for such an action to succeed.
Hey taxing thank you for replying, I know I need a pretty compelling reason for a copy to be valid in court, im in a bad spot. My grandma passed a year ago and ive been fighting for months. I got an eviction notice, I live on the property im supposed to be a co owner of. I just wanted to know what the rights are of me obtaining that copy from the lawyer. It's kind of my only option. Her daughters are saying no will ever existed, which is not true.
I read somewhere as a beneficiary I am entitled to a copy, I just dont know if the lawyer can give me one since she is deceased.
You don't lose anything by asking the attorney.
You got an eviction notice from whom? From your other thread, you indicated that probate had not been opened. So, who is it that believes that they have the authority to evict you?
One of my aunts, she signed as landlord. They got a letter of administration claiming no will exists therefore turning over all her assets to her heirs. Then they changed the deed over to themselves.
Take a step back here...
For the sake of argument, let's say that the original will can't be located and it isn't possible to get a copy admitted. Thus, intestate succession.
What happened to the share of the estate that would have gone to your mother?
[EDIT TO ADD: I may have been taxing my memory too much. I thought you previously said that your mother had passed away.]
You really need a an attorney or you are going to end up as road kill.
My dear mother along with 2 of my aunts, are all co owners of the property, theres a website in ny you can view this information. They transferred everything on September 5th. I have an attorney for the eviction and he referred me to a colleague for probate who im seeing on Monday. The eviction can be put on hold if we get a copy of the will, then go to probate court and fight there. I was just wondering and more so worrying about getting this copy. I keep hitting dead ends.
And your mother is going along with the eviction action?
Anyway, the pertinent section of the SCPA is:
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/SCP/14/1407
And here is a brief article discussing the subject of lost wills:
http://www.farrellfritz.com/wp-conte...ds/art-328.pdf
Thank you taxing, great reads. They give me some hope, and clarity. Yes my mother is going along with it, she isnt mentally stable. Ever since my grandma passed they have been lashing out at everyone, its a very very sad situation and I appreciate the article you sent. Im reading it through now.
In New York, wills are public record; go to the surrogates where her estate was probated & ask to see the filing on record.