Jim and Mary are living together but are not married
In Jim's will, he indicates that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes.
Jim passes in Jan of 2020 but Mary is not given a copy of the will for 6 months and had no idea that benefit was there for her.
Is Mary entitled to the two years from the point she receives a copy of the will (notice)? OR... is she only able to live in the vacation home for the 18 months that remain?
that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes. Her knowledge of that provision wouldn’t seem relevant unless there is some fact not presented.
that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes. Her knowledge of that provision wouldn’t seem relevant unless there is some fact not presented.
okay...if Mary was never told the provision existed in the will until 6 months after his death, she would not have known she had the ability to live in the vacation home until she finally received a copy of the will and read it for the first time.
that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes. Her knowledge of that provision wouldn’t seem relevant unless there is some fact not presented.
okay...if Mary was never told the provision existed in the will until 6 months after his death, she would not have known she had the ability to live in the vacation home until she finally received a copy of the will and read it for the first time.
Why would anyone want to live in someone else home without them there?
and it's in writing, principles of equity might apply: if it can be shown that she was not shown Jim's will because of bad faith or other self-serving objective, she might have an argument. Certainly not black and white and if it is destined to be litigated, probably won't make anyone happy at end of the day, poorer, yes
that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes. Her knowledge of that provision wouldn’t seem relevant unless there is some fact not presented.
okay...if Mary was never told the provision existed in the will until 6 months after his death, she would not have known she had the ability to live in the vacation home until she finally received a copy of the will and read it for the first time.
So, if she had not lived there because she did not know she could have and if the reason she did not know was based on the malfeasance of the trustee or estate attorney then that might be a litigable issue.
of any type, but it seems like the executor should have an obligation to notify people named or designated in the will to receive property, etc or of the conditions or items they were provided.
of any type, but it seems like the executor should have an obligation to notify people named or designated in the will to receive property, etc or of the conditions or items they were provided.
of any type, but it seems like the executor should have an obligation to notify people named or designated in the will to receive property, etc or of the conditions or items they were provided.
just seems like common sense.
^^ That is exactly my point.
I am not an attorney, but 5he Executor has a fiduciary responsibility to the beneficiaries of the estate. By not notifying Mary of her benefit can leave the Executor open to a lawsuit.
of any type, but it seems like the executor should have an obligation to notify people named or designated in the will to receive property, etc or of the conditions or items they were provided.
just seems like common sense.
There is no legal requirement in many states. However, states have used that as grounds to sustain lawsuits against executors and, if very extreme, decline to follow the Will and not allow the Executor to be appointed.
of any type, but it seems like the executor should have an obligation to notify people named or designated in the will to receive property, etc or of the conditions or items they were provided.
just seems like common sense.
Or the deceased could have told Mary she could live in the house for 2 years after his passing. He signed the will, he offered the benefit, why wouldn't he let her know?
If I were one of the estate beneficiaries looking to either use or sell the property, that would be my argument.
but it seems odd that if they were living together when he died, she was unaware of provisions in the will involving her. Or at least didn't find out for 6 months.
This thread is an excellent example of the things that can
go wrong with a will, and why it is not a good idea to draft your own will.
There was a recent thread about the pros and cons of using Legal Zoom for estate planning. This is a good example of the cons.
How do you know the guy did his own will or did it with Legal Zoom? I paid an attorney to do my will, but can see how something similar could still happen.
Did I miss that comment where EricJ said that?
RE: RE: This thread is an excellent example of the things that can
go wrong with a will, and why it is not a good idea to draft your own will.
There was a recent thread about the pros and cons of using Legal Zoom for estate planning. This is a good example of the cons.
How do you know the guy did his own will or did it with Legal Zoom? I paid an attorney to do my will, but can see how something similar could still happen.
Did I miss that comment where EricJ said that?
This individual definitely used a professional to draft the will. The issue is this person's affairs are being managed by others since his passing who are blood relatives. So there is a lot of nonsense going on and they likely do not want Mary to stay in the vacation home.
The two above posters are quite right. I should have added
that if an attorney had prepared the will and was at fault, at least there would be somebody to sue for malpractice. (Attorneys do have malpractice insurance) That would not be possible if the testator had used Legal Zoom.
The attorney would also be privy to the intentions of the testator and could go into court to clarify the meaning of any ambiguous parts of the will.
In Jim's will, he indicates that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes.
Jim passes in Jan of 2020 but Mary is not given a copy of the will for 6 months and had no idea that benefit was there for her.
Is Mary entitled to the two years from the point she receives a copy of the will (notice)? OR... is she only able to live in the vacation home for the 18 months that remain?
okay...if Mary was never told the provision existed in the will until 6 months after his death, she would not have known she had the ability to live in the vacation home until she finally received a copy of the will and read it for the first time.
okay so if they never sent ANY notice about the benefit to Mary and sent no copy of the will... she in theory could legally miss out on the benefit?
Quote:
that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes. Her knowledge of that provision wouldn’t seem relevant unless there is some fact not presented.
okay...if Mary was never told the provision existed in the will until 6 months after his death, she would not have known she had the ability to live in the vacation home until she finally received a copy of the will and read it for the first time.
Why would anyone want to live in someone else home without them there?
Why would anyone want to live in someone else home without them there?
That really does not help at all
Quote:
that Mary can live in his vacation home for two years after he passes. Her knowledge of that provision wouldn’t seem relevant unless there is some fact not presented.
okay...if Mary was never told the provision existed in the will until 6 months after his death, she would not have known she had the ability to live in the vacation home until she finally received a copy of the will and read it for the first time.
So, if she had not lived there because she did not know she could have and if the reason she did not know was based on the malfeasance of the trustee or estate attorney then that might be a litigable issue.
just seems like common sense.
just seems like common sense.
^^ That is exactly my point.
Quote:
of any type, but it seems like the executor should have an obligation to notify people named or designated in the will to receive property, etc or of the conditions or items they were provided.
just seems like common sense.
^^ That is exactly my point.
I am not an attorney, but 5he Executor has a fiduciary responsibility to the beneficiaries of the estate. By not notifying Mary of her benefit can leave the Executor open to a lawsuit.
just seems like common sense.
There is no legal requirement in many states. However, states have used that as grounds to sustain lawsuits against executors and, if very extreme, decline to follow the Will and not allow the Executor to be appointed.
just seems like common sense.
Or the deceased could have told Mary she could live in the house for 2 years after his passing. He signed the will, he offered the benefit, why wouldn't he let her know?
If I were one of the estate beneficiaries looking to either use or sell the property, that would be my argument.
There was a recent thread about the pros and cons of using Legal Zoom for estate planning. This is a good example of the cons.
There was a recent thread about the pros and cons of using Legal Zoom for estate planning. This is a good example of the cons.
How do you know the guy did his own will or did it with Legal Zoom? I paid an attorney to do my will, but can see how something similar could still happen.
Did I miss that comment where EricJ said that?
Quote:
go wrong with a will, and why it is not a good idea to draft your own will.
There was a recent thread about the pros and cons of using Legal Zoom for estate planning. This is a good example of the cons.
How do you know the guy did his own will or did it with Legal Zoom? I paid an attorney to do my will, but can see how something similar could still happen.
Did I miss that comment where EricJ said that?
This individual definitely used a professional to draft the will. The issue is this person's affairs are being managed by others since his passing who are blood relatives. So there is a lot of nonsense going on and they likely do not want Mary to stay in the vacation home.
The attorney would also be privy to the intentions of the testator and could go into court to clarify the meaning of any ambiguous parts of the will.