WHAT DO I DO IF A RELATIVE LEFT ME A CASH GIFT IN THEIR WILLAND THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OR ATTORNEY DID NOT NOTIFY ME OF THIS?
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WHAT DO I DO IF A RELATIVE LEFT ME A CASH GIFT IN THEIR WILLAND THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OR ATTORNEY DID NOT NOTIFY ME OF THIS?
I RECENTLY RECEIVED A COPY OF A RELATIVE’S WILL AND FOUND THAT I WAS NAMED TO RECEIVE A GENEROUS CASH GIFT. I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED BY THE ATTORNEY HANDLING THE WILL OR THE PR. AT THIS TIME THE FAMILY IS NOT ON SPEAKING TERMS DUE TO CONFLICTS IN THE WILL. THE PR WILL NOT ANSWER MY E-MAILS OR CALLS. I TRIED CALLING THE ATTORNEY AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT SPEAK TO ME AS IT IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. WHAT CAN I DO TO FIND OUT THE STATUS OF MY INHERITANCE AND SHOULD I HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO WRITE A DEMAND LETTER OR SHOULD I JUST WAIT IT OUT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS?
Asked on March 23, 2011 under Estate Planning, Florida
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss and for your situation. I think that it would be in your best interest to hire an attorney to write a letter to the Personal Representative of the estate as soon as possible. You should have been notified that the Will was being offered for probate and gotten a copy of the Will with the Citation or Notice a to same. You are a beneficiary of the estate and you have every right to the notice and an accounting as to what is going on. Do not just wait it out. I would not trust that if you were not properly notified from the beginning that you would be properly notifed any time down the line. Good luck.
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