Originally Posted by
larrylove
I have been told that my younger sister is executor for my Dad and that I may or may not inherit anything or be in the will. Is this legal? Doesn't the oldest have rights or duties allowed by law. How do I appeal this in Florida?
You posted a similar question once before - the answer is, yes, it's your father's money (or belongings) and he can leave his estate to anyone he wishes (including, as someone pointed out, the family dog). If you are to be excluded from the Will wording to the effect that you are not mentioned for reasons known to you or, better yet, a bequest of a very small amount, answers the "can you WIN an 'appeal' question." I just came across a comparison of Florida Law and NYS Law (where I am) in this regard - NYS recommends very specific "I am not leaving you anything because you didn't send me a Father's Day card" language; Florida recommends the "I'm leaving you $1.00" wording, nothing specific.
Your sister's responsibility as Executrix is to probate (and settle) the Will and make distribution in accordance with your Father's Will - she makes NO decisions as to the who, what, where - those decisions are controlled by the Will.
Again - this sounds like a very bad family relationship, particularly if your mother died and no one told you about her death (which you have posted before) and the whole Will question appears to be part of a bigger problem. As I recall you aren't even sure about the status of your Father's health.
You will receive a copy of the Will and you can decide at that time whether to question it or fight the terms - but with the family history if you are NOT included I would think it would be a losing, uphill fight for you plus you would have to make your argument in Florida.
I believe you have asked about your sister controlling your Father's assets through a Power of Attorney - a Power of Attorney does NOT control his Estate upon his passing and, in fact, terminates upon his death.
As I advised before, call your Father and ask; call your sister and ask; leave California, go to Florida, visit your Father... and ask. Get involved.
(As you can probably tell I have a personal problem with people who aren't around to take care of someone, don't visit, don't call, don't get involved in the day-to-day caretaking... and then show up at Will time, claim forms in hand! I honestly hope this is not the case here and it's a question of distance.)