my father who was a widower recently died.he left a will signed and witnessed leaving all property monies and assets to be divided equally between myself and younger sister equally.he also told us both of his wishes.my father and sister were and are resident in California.my wife and I visited my parents and then my father at least once a year and sometimes twice a year when there has been ill health.this has been for the last 10-11 years,at a total cost of about 30,000 pounds sterling.I am resident in he UK.at times we have gone into debt to be able to see them when they have been ill.my sister has given me little information on what monies my father left and also the value of his property.
at the time my father died.I had had abdominal surgery and advised not to fly for at least 6 weeks.I told my sister this.I have not had any contact from my sister in the last 6 weeks.I spoke to her last week and she told me that she had been to an attorney and he had told her that because I did not go to California after his death that I am not entitled to anything
and would get nothing.is this correct? I understand that my sister took control of my fathers finances after my mothers death 4 yrs ago,and also had her name put on the deeds of his house.I last saw my father in 2008 when we took his great grandson to see him.I knew this would be the last time I saw my father and it was very emotional.he again thanked my wife and myself for all we had done for them over the last 10-11 years and again confirmed his wishes and said he had made my sister aware of them also.wher do I stand legally?

The Will is binding. Everything else was just (unfortunately) converation.

You can always contest the Will but it's an expensive, time consuming process and you would have to PROVE your father was mentally incompetent when he wrote his Will.

What you need to do is actually SEE the will. If there was no provision in it that it was mandatory to attend the funeral or jump through some hoops then you are entitled to its benefit. You can search online for housing in the area or his address and there are sites that show current customary values. You might wish to seek a barrister to correspond with this supposed lawyer. And to settle the matters it may require you to take a trip to California. If she of her own accord and not of his permission put her name on everything after the will was written then she abused her powers if she was the one in control of the monies.

on a side note: sorry for his passing.

Yes, the first thing is to see the will. It would have to have a provision that required you to attend the funeral for what your sister is saying to be true. Do you have proof that she said this to you?

I would retain an attorney in CA to check for probate and get a copy of the will. If it does not have such a provision. You can have your attorney present proof of your sister's lies and have her removed as executor.

Now the harder part is your sister's looting the estate prior to your father's death. If assets were transferred to her name or even jointly with your father, but with rights of survivorship, then those assets passed to her outside the estate. You would have to have a record of each of those assets and sue her for their value claiming undue influence.

If she transferred assets AFTER his death, then as executor, she needs to provide you with an exact accounting of those assets to determine your share of the estate.

The Will is binding. Everything else was just (unfortunately) converation.

You can always contest the Will but it's an expensive, time consuming process and you would have to PROVE your father was mentally incompetent when he wrote his Will.

He said the will divided the property equally!

He said the will divided the property equally!


Again, the Will is binding. Anything else is conversation.

As has been said, you need to see the Will and you very well may need an Attorney to do so.

The Will is binding. Everything else was just (unfortunately) converation.

You can always contest the Will but it's an expensive, time consuming process and you would have to PROVE your father was mentally incompetent when he wrote his Will.

He said the will divided the property equally!

You are new here so maybe you didn't understand how this works. But when you quote someone's comments and then add your own, it appears you are agreeing/disagreeing with the quoted text. In this case it appears that you are disagreeing. Yet nothing in Judy's response says anything about the fact that the will was to divide the property equally. So I don't understand your point or why you posted your comment.

You are new here so maybe you didn't understand how this works. But when you quote someone's comments and then add your own, it appears you are agreeing/disagreeing with the quoted text. In this case it appears that you are disagreeing. Yet nothing in Judy's response says anything about the fact that the will was to divide the property equally. So I don't understand your point or why you posted your comment.

So sorry did not reply earlier.As you quite rightly say I am new to site.I totally agree with Judys answer and would like to thank her any other member that posted comments.It is a very difficult situation for me,as we are now at the point where my sister will not answer any questions,or give her attorney details.Because I am resident in the UK I am having a problem sourcing an attorney who is familiar with California law.I am recently retired,and because off ill health my wife has been told to give up work.Our finances are limited ,but as a member suggested it may require a trip to the U.S.Once again thank you for comments.my original question was put under my wife's name.(lagirl)

The Will is binding. Everything else was just (unfortunately) converation.

You can always contest the Will but it's an expensive, time consuming process and you would have to PROVE your father was mentally incompetent when he wrote his Will.

Judy thank you so much for your quote.I agree totally with your comments.My father was of sound mind when he made his will and told both my sister and myself what his
Wishes were.It looks as though it will require a trip to the us to resolve this.Once again thank you.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Let us know how this works out for you - and how disrespectful your sister is where your father is concerned.

Let us know how this works out for you - and how disrespectful your sister is where your father is concerned.

Thank you Judy,I will be consulting an attorney in California and Iwill let you know how things work out.May take a while though.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Thank you Scott sure will.