Am I entitled to from my brother’s estate?
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Am I entitled to from my brother’s estate?
My brother has recently died and had no Will. He is survived by 3 sisters and I. I have not been able to contact my sisters to find out the status of his estate. Do I need to contact a lawyer?
Asked on October 18, 2011 under Estate Planning, Massachusetts
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you can't reach the Personal Representative (i.e. the person whois court-appointed to administer the estate of someone who has dies without a Will), then possibly getting an attorney involved might be a good option.
As for just what, if anything, that you are entitled to, it depends. First of all, when someone dies without a Will they are said ti have died "intestate". Accordingly the intestacy laws of the state of which the deceased was domiciled as of the date of their dearth will control. Typically, if there is a surviving spouse and or children they will inherit; if there are none then siblings take an equal share of their deceased sibling's estate.
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