Heir contesting a will? (divorce was in process)?

Question

My dad was in the process of a divorce for almost a year. He was also in the process of writing a new will. Neither the divorce nor the will were signed/finalized!

Now, my stepmother (the wife he was divorcing) has submitted an older will to probate which says everything goes to her. Dad had wanted his estate to be divided up amongst his children (as he expressed during the divorce proceedings). He had the latest will completed by a lawyer, but it was never signed. What is the best course of action? There is some possibility the stepmother will respect Dad's wishes, but I'd say it's only a 50-50 chance. Should we contest the older will she submitted (which appears valid) with the idea that Dad's later will (which might not be valid) will at least allow the prior will to be revoked? Then, maybe us kids can get a share of the estate as if there was no will at all? Any other thoughts on this would also be helpful.

Dad was having a new will drawn up while the divorce was in process, but neither that will or the divorce was finalized. Do we have anything to work with in questioning the validity of the initial will which stepmother has submitted to probate? I even saw the newest will and it was very different from the original will. The later will was in favor of Dad's kids; the original will only included stepmother's and Dad's kids--not the kids from Dad's first marriage--of whom I am a part.

Answer 1

If your Dad died, the judge will probably not sign the divorce decree. If there was a valid will leaving items to your step-mother, that is a valid will and can be probated.

If the divorce decree had been granted prior to your father's death, your step-mother would have received nothing. Under Pennsylvania law, "If a testator is divorced from the bonds of matrimony after making a will, any provision in the will in favor of or relating to his spouse so divorced shall thereby become ineffective for all purposes unless it appears from the will that the provision was intended to survive the divorce." 20 Consolidated Pennsylvania Statutes §2507.

**One Possible Way of Saving the Situation**

Go over every piece of correspondence you can find signed by your father to determine if there is ANYTHING that may say something such as: "If I die, everything gets divided equally among my children. (signed) Dad"

In Pennsylvania, and possibly other states, such a writing could be probated as a will.

Answer 2

Having a copy of both wills would help you because if neither are completely valid, a judge could decide either way based on a variety of factors like family relationships. Like how close you were and could you know just as much about his wishes as she did.

The will that she submitted works both for and against you. you could argue that your father would have left something to at least *one* of his biological children. It could be countered though by showing that at one time in at least 1 will he did not see fit to leave you anything.

I think it's worth pursuing and it happens every day. Take her to probate court. You should get a lawyer but you can also talk to the court clerk about paperwork and file a petition without one.

Answer 3

I would have to say that the courts are going to go with the one that is signed. It isn't any different than a contract really. A contract is going to be void without signatures. Good Luck!