She was certain her dad had left her his house in his Will—she had seen it before he died. But now, it was missing. The day after he passed away, the house was broken into, and papers, checks, and the few valuables he had were gone. Her brother, who had been in and out of jail multiple times and had previously stolen from their dad, was suspected. Her father had made it clear he didn’t want her brother to get anything. Now, the Will had vanished.
When she came to my office, she asked if I could retrieve a copy of it. She thought there might be a place at the court where all Wills are kept. While there is a place at the court to lodge a Will, almost no one does that before they pass away.
Unfortunately, this type of situation happens more often than you’d think. Fortunately, her dad had contacted me and was in the process of getting his Trust done. While he never signed the Trust because he kept rescheduling due to illness, I had scanned a copy of the Will he had written himself. As far as I know, the original he brought to me was the only copy, but my scanned copy is now the only one that exists.
While we can’t prove the brother took the papers and valuables from the house, he didn’t succeed in erasing the Will that disinherited him, thanks to that scanned copy. Her dad’s estate will still have to go through probate since the Trust was never signed, but at least his wishes won’t be entirely lost.
I never like it when a client passes before signing their new Trust, and I always hope to prevent situations like this. Don’t wait until you’re sick or in crisis—get started now and give me a call.
