location: Virginia
The decedent had a will that stated “I bequeath my worldly goods to my husband who is aware of my personal desires regarding distribution of individual items and will carry them out to the best of his ability in the best interest of all.” No alternative beneficiaries were named.
Her husband got brain cancer, rapidly declined, and died 6 months earlier than she did, which lead to her having a lapsed will. The decedent believed that she had no “blood relatives” or next of kin which I’ll detail further below.
I I am the administrator of this estate. As it stands now, I was instructed to hire a genealogist and find any living next of kin. So far, over 100 relatives, mostly cousins of some degree, have been located. She was not aware of any of them and would not have wanted this to be the outcome. I believe I have plenty of proof to show this.
There were many extenuating circumstances that prevented her from making a new will. I have no doubt that if any human being were to look at the facts and situation prior to her death, that they would clearly see that she did not intend for this to be the result.
As I’m researching, I see that the testator’s intent is supposed to matter. I see cases where the intent has been challenged. It appears that it is possible somehow, but I have not been able to find the method of doing so. I brought supporting documents with me to my probate appointment and was told there was nothing that could be done. Hired a lawyer who has said, “too bad, so sad.” I’ve gone along with it so far, but it just isn’t sitting right.
Her intent, as stated in a will that she typed out prior to her death, stated that her estate was to be split 3 ways. Between a non profit organization that she had dedicated years of her life to, and her husband’s two adult children/ her stepchildren.
Supporting facts and evidence:
The above mentioned typed out will that she created prior to her death. it’s still open on her computer with no changes, so the date shows when it was created. Her wishes in this newly typed will are very similar to a previous, which was superseded. My argument is that the current, lapsed will does not simply bequeath everything to her husband, but specifically states that she trusts him to distribute the items. I do not believe that in his absence, any reasonable person would assume that she would want it to go to distant relatives. So, the first and last wills list percentages, the second one, in use, was just meant to allow her husband to decide the amounts.
She passed unexpectedly only 6 months after her husband. This was a hectic time in which she was deeply grieving in addition to dealing with her own mobility and neurological issues. She was recovering from shoulder replacement surgery which limited her mobility. Furthermore, she was in the process of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which had severely limited her fine motor skills. I have medical records and the word of at least one of her doctors.
Prior to her husband’s cancer diagnosis, they had begun the process of tearing down their old house and having a new one built in its place, which was a big undertaking that she did not plan to do alone. She found herself having to work with the builder during the completion to make decisions about their dream home without the help of her husband. Also, dealing with the bank to close the house, medical bills, and trying to resolve her husband’s estate added to her stress.
They was living in a rental house during the house building, which meant she was preparing to move. From the rental into the new house. So, she also had to organize that while grieving, trying to handle her husband’s estate and dealing with physical challenges. The house was completed the day before she passed, so there was a lot to going on prior to her death.
I also have proof that she wrote an email to the non profit organization stating that she intended to bequeath a sum of money to them for a particular purpose and was asking for an EIN number in order to do so. So, even with all of these challenges, she was making an attempt to revise her will.
Back to the next of kin circumstances. She was the adopted only child of only children. The only family that she ever had contact with was a great aunt, also childless, who had long passed away. The only time she mentioned anything about the family of her parents was to share a traumatic memory from her youth, when at a gathering, someone disclosed to her that she was adopted. She felt rejected by them and she and her parents never attended a gathering with them again. If the topic of family came up, she stated that although she had no blood family, she had a chosen family that she gained through years of friendship and service. She said that while she had no children of the womb, her stepchildren were her children of the heart.
She was under the impression that, especially because she was adopted, that she had no legal “blood relatives.” None of them attended or were even aware of her funeral. They had to be located by a service.
She would have been horrified to learn that her estate was to be split amongst over 100 people that she had no blood relation to and had never regarded as family. She always stated that she planned to gift her NPO with a sum of money after her passing and was honored to be able to leave that as her legacy.
This estate now includes both her and my dad’s life work. It isn’t enormous, but it’s not nothing. It is very complicated and includes property in 3 states and difficult to resolve assets. I have been working on it for going on 3 years. As a stepchild, I was able to be qualified by a low hanging piece of VA’s intestacy law, which was enough to qualify as administrator but not close enough to inherit before “blood.” It was good because there would have been no one else able to give her a funeral or with any knowledge of the situation to correspond with the landlord and the builders.
This has taken over my life for several years now, in addition to the time that I paused to go help with my dad’s brain cancer and to be there to help my stepmom after his passing. It will kill me to have to divide it up amongst these unknown, unrelated people as if she was nobody, and not be able to leave her legacy. Even if it were to all end up going there, and not to myself, I can handle that. I refuse to believe there is no method of fixing this, but so far I’ve come up empty. Any help, guidance, direction, ANYTING would be greatly appreciated.
Lastly, I initially had a very hard time finding a lawyer, probably due to hearing “stepmother.” If this is a case of needing to find another lawyer, I’d love suggestions on how to get one to talk to me. There isn’t any family squabbling or disagreements among my sibling and I or the NPO. And I don’t figure the cousins would end up getting a large enough amount, after it’s split over 100 ways, to fight it much. As it is, the estate is mostly done save for a few loose ends.
Comments
Her intent no longer matters. Its as though she does not have a will. What you are trying is a total non-starter.
You cannot argue the intent of a will unless the words are ambiguous. And they are not.