How can I fight for what is rightfully mine from my mom’s Will if I can’t afford an attorney and no family members will cooperate with me?
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How can I fight for what is rightfully mine from my mom’s Will if I can’t afford an attorney and no family members will cooperate with me?
My mom passed 14 years ago. I have been asking about my mom’s Will for the last 7 years. I have asked my older sister about it and she says she has both copies of it. She has a copy of the original and the rewrote one from after she died, when her and my stepdad rewrote it. I know that is illegal to do, as in rewrite a Will after someone passes. So I have not been able to obtain the original Will until a couple days ago from an old friend of my mom’s. I read that it and it was very understandable. I saw that my step dad and my sister didn’t go by my mom’s wishes and I was not able to get everything I was suppose to or at least my share, including possessions and inheritance. I even have the original receipt from my stepdad that shows him giving me $4,055 and I found out that I was suppose to get $10,000. I am low income and can’t afford an attorney. How should I go about getting what is rightfully mine and go with my mom’s wishes from her Will?
Asked on August 6, 2012 under Estate Planning, Washington
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Can you go to legal aid or to your local bar association and see if they have a program for free services for you? At this point it may not be a probate proceeding but a fraud proceeding against your dad and sister. They have committed crimes. Did they file the Will? And were you notified? Then you had to have objected but if you were not able to obtain the original WIll then it could be a problem if the copy was not signed (you could use it to prove her signature, etc.). Good luck.
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