There is NO WILL - Can I sue my uncle against my granny's estate(it's in probate)?

Question

Ive been taking care of my disabled grandmother for 8 yrs. I have had no other job or education. she passed in june this year. my uncle is kicking my son and I out with nowhere to go, in the middle of winter, no money, no vehicle, nothing to fall back on. All of these years without a vehicle and he would not even bring tiolet paper or take me to the grocery store. I rode the bus to food lion and walked to walgreens hundereds of times to get what we needed. I could not leave the house to work because she would try to cook and burn things and leave the stove on or she would fall if she didnt get the help she needed to walk to the bathroom. I have sacrificed so much taking care of my granny and my son has been in the same school system since kindergarten - he is 12 yrs old.
Advice I've recieved has been that most health care aides/companions make on the low end 2000 a month - meaning he would owe me over 200 000. I don't want nearly thats. Just enough for a fresh start. There is NO WILL.

I didnt choose to move in and take care of her, I had been living here on and off all my life and was living here when she fell ill. At first my uncles and aunt and mom said they would pay me a little each month. They gave me 50 $ the first month and then never gave anything else, not even help.

My parent is still alive and has written and signed a paper that says she will give me whatever is her share when the house is sold. However, she recently got on disability and we fear that they will take her share.

Answer 1

Sure, you can sue. You probably won't win. The fact that your life was sad changes nothing, your uncle did not cause your problems. You win law suits when you show that the other person is liable for damages.

How the estate will be handled is a matter of state law. Since there is no will, the estate will be handled by the Intestate laws. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestacy

"I didnt choose to move in and take care of her," Unless he imprisoned you or your grandmother imprisoned you, you were there of your own free will. You could have left. No law or person kept you from doing so.

You are not a licensed health care provider. Charging for health care you are not licensed to provide is a bad idea and may be a crime in your state.

Additionally, no contact existed for you to provide those services. You provided them by your own free will.

You should see a lawyer about the estate issues.

Richard - I've been through the home heath care headache here in Washington. In Washington you can not provide medical care even in a home setting and even for a relative if you are not licensed. The dodge here is that the people are hired as personal assistants and prepare food but they can not administer medications or do anything else that is considered providing medical care.

Answer 2

I agree with "Rickinno...". The asker will apparently be an intestate heir entitled to an intestate share of her grandmother's estate. If the asker's parent predeceased her, she would take the per stirpes share of the deceased parent in the grandmother's estate.

The second issue is the claim for services furnished to the decedent before she died. People often file claims for services and items furnished to a decedent before the death of the decedent, but those claims likely fail because of a presumption of periodic payment, a presumption that the person providing the services, and because of a rule of evidence called "the Dead Man's Act" -- meaning that the surviving claimant cannot provide oral testimony of the services against a decedent. The proof would have to come from other sources, such as a writing, or from a person who did not have an adverse interest in the estate.

The best advice I can give you at this point is to hire a probate lawyer to give you some advice.

Answer 3

I have to presume that your uncle is your grandmother's son. If that is the case, he will have superior rights of inheritance to you because your Mom (her daughter) is still alive. Accordingly, you probably have NO rights to any of the estate. However, your Mom does and so do any of your grandmother's other children. It all depends on the laws of intestacy (intestacy occurs when someone dies without a will) in your state.

You and your Mom need to see a lawyer to get advice. If you cannot afford one, see if there is a Legal Aid office in your area. They can help or send you to someone who can. If you need help finding someone, call the state bar association nearest you. They may be able to refer you to someone who can help

I agree with Ric that your uncle likely cannot evict you even if he did have a superior right to everyone else. He must go through legal process and until the estate goes through probate, he probably will not be able to do anything. Don't let him bully you and see an attorney ASAP (specializing in wills and estates).

Answer 4

Sounds like you are screwed. You might want to try to get on good terms with your uncle and try to work things out.

In the meanwhile, you will want to discuss your your situation with an experienced probate attorney. You can sue if you want to. But, you may not be able to prevail in court. Talk to an attorney to figure out what options are open to you.

If there's no legal documentation by your grandmother for you to take care of her and her affairs. You may be stuck between a rock and a hard spot.

Answer 5

If there is no will then, as I said in the first answer, your uncle has NO standing to throw you out, and you can tell him to pound sand when he tells you to leave.

Your grandmothers estate will be handled by your States probate court. First thing is to contact them and tell them her estate needs to be probated. They will appoint an administrator - usually a local attorney.

You didn't say what State you're in, but in most States (assuming your grandfather is already dead) your grandmothers estate will be equally divided up among all her children, living OR dead.

If any of her children died before her, that childs share will be divided among his or her kids.

Example.... your Gran had four kids, including your Mom, but your Mom is already dead, and you have one brother. Your grans three surviving kids will each get 1/4 of her estate, and you and your brother will share your Moms 1/4.

Consult a local lawyer !

EDIT - Sorry, David, but you're wrong on many levels this time. She doesn't have to be a licensed health care provider such as a nurse or HHA to care for a *family member* in any State. For an elderly persons family to pay one of their number - a child or grandchild - to care for her is perfectly normal. Her problem is that the promise to "help out" is too vague to be enforceable.

However, she DOES have standing for a suit against the estate.

First, of course, she may be a beneficiary in intestacy.

Second, there's a very good case to be made for a finding of "detrimental reliance" - the legal theory that she relied, to her detriment, on a promise that she'd be taken care of on her Grandmothers death.

Richard

Answer 6

Yes you can and should sue because portion of her estate is yours. get a good lawyer.