Must all family members be notified of a deceased’s passing even if they are not mentioned as a beneficiary of the Will?
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Must all family members be notified of a deceased’s passing even if they are not mentioned as a beneficiary of the Will?
My uncle and, subsequently, my aunt died this year. They have an executed Will and in it my aunt’s sister and me are named as the sole beneficiaries. Her sister was designated the executor of my aunt’s Will as I was the executor of my uncle’s. The sister consulted an attorney to have everything done correctly and that attorney indicates that we need to provide names and addresses of other family members, who are not mentioned in the Will, to provide to the probate court. My uncle and aunt both had a falling out with another sister and excluded her deliberately from the Will and it just looks like providing this information is unnecessary since they weren’t mentioned in it. Is this an actual requirement?
Asked on August 29, 2014 under Estate Planning, Ohio
Answers:
Anne Brady / Law Office of Anne Brady
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
The reason that all relatives must be contacted in the event of a death with a will is that someone may have a basis for contesting the will. It is unlikely, but the will can not be probated unless all possible challengers have been notified of the death and chosen not to contest the will.
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