Grandfathers living will?

Question

Ok, heres the situation...My grandfather had a will with his wife and then he passed away. This was last year. Then just recently his wife passed away. I know that no money was to be released or property they have until my grandfather's wife passed. She just passed away on monday and i know i was in the will. except that they never got the chance to tell me who the lawyer was. I live in az and they lived in pasadena FL. So what do i do now? These so called family members came around right before she passed. Everyone now thinks she changed the will before she died?is that possible? How do i find out about my grandfathers house and will? I need help asap. thankyou

Answer 1

First of all, a living will is a document concerning an individual's wishes concerning their medical care, so you are talking about either a Last Will and Testament or a Living Trust.
If it was a living trust, it may never get to the probate court. The purpose of a living trust is to keep assets out of probate. Whether any information need be disclosed or not concerning the trust depends upon whether or not it was revocable.
If they had Wills, then they likely each had their own. In that instance, the property will pass in accordance with grandma's will. Of course, these are generalizations because I don't have much information to go by.
If there is a will to be probated, it will be filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court. Here is the link to check the cases: http://pubtitlet.co.pinellas.fl.us/civil/KEInput.jsp. You should be able to get the attorney's name from the court records once a will has been filed. If a will is filed and probate is opened and no one will give you information, you file a request for special notice, and they have to copy you on all pleadings filed in the case from the time you file your request.

Answer 2

You stated that your grandfather died testate a year ago, and that his wife (possibly your grandmother) died recently. There is a possibility that your grandfather's will may not have been probated because he did not have a probate estate. If everything he owned was jointly owned with his wife -- his and her names on deed, joint bank accounts, joint ownership of stocks and bonds, etc., there would be no need to probate his will because everything would pass to the surviving joint owner.

To find out if grandpa had an estate administration you might want to contact the Pinellas County Clerk of Courts. Probate records can be found in the following locations:

Probate Court Records - Locations

CLEARWATER COURTHOUSE
315 Court St., Room 106
Clearwater, Florida 33756
727-464-3321

NORTH COUNTY BRANCH OFFICE
29582 U.S. 19 North
Clearwater, FL 33761
Telephone: [phone]

ST. PETERSBURG BRANCH OFFICE
545 First Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Telephone: [phone]

Questions to ask are :

1. Was grandpa's will probated?

2. Was grandpa's wife's will probated?

3. If there was an estate opened for either decedent, who are the personal representative (executor) and the attorney for the estate? Contact those people to get a copy of (1) the will, if there was one; and (2) any estate inventory and list of debts and deductions of the estate. You should also determine if distributions have been made.

Note that people can change their wills at any time. You seem to be saying that you think there may be grounds for a will contest. In Florida, the grounds for a will contest are the following:
1. Lack of testamentary capacity.
2. Undue influence -- Undue influence is one of the most common grounds for attempting to set aside a last will. In Florida, a presumption of undue influence will arise, if the contestant can show that the alleged undue influence (a) is a substantial beneficiary under the will; (b) occupied a confidential relationship to the decedent; and (c) was "active" in the procuring" the will.
3. Mistake
4. Insane delusion
5. Fraud or duress
6. Failure to execute the will with the required formalities
7. Revocation

The people who have standing to bring a Will Contest are: Florida Statutes §733.109 provides that any "interested person" may petition for revocation of probate. An interested person is defined under the Florida Statutes § 731.201 as any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved. These include "heirs at law", and a beneficiary and personal representative under a prior will.

There are a lot of formalities involved in contesting a will. It is expensive, and if you want to go there, you really can't do it yourself. Hire a lawyer.

Answer 3

Your best bet for solid information would be to hire an attorney where she lived to tell you what's going on with the Probate of her estate. It doesn't have to be disputatious with the family, just hire him to check the Probate file once a week until you know who's doing what, and they will probably never know you have someone in town keeping an eye on things for you.

Answer 4

Yes, your Grandfather's wife could of changed the will if she was mentally fit to. If you are in the will the estate attorney will contact you.