Q: if my grandparents had legal custody of me when I was kid do I have say over the living will if they have passed
My grandparents had legal custody and guardianship of me and my brother when we were kids up until I turned 18 they're passed away and my uncles are trying to evict me from the home I live in which is my grandparents do they have the right evict me from her home even though she said I could stay there and can I also dispute the living will and testament of both of them and am I considered one other kids and immediate family that can dispute the living will and testament and the sale of their home I also believe that they have altered the living will and testament of my grandparents and can I dispute me getting evicted from my grandparents home
A:
The short answer: you probably have an uphill battle.
One very fundamental value of estate planning is the opportunity to express your wishes in writing (through a will or trust instrument, for example) so that there will not be disputes after your death (or, at least, there may be less probability of disputes). Generally speaking, an unambiguous will that is accepted by the Court as valid and authentic will likely trump subsequent verbal preferences that you claim were expressed by your grandparents to you. In that situation, the personal representative approved by the Court will need to follow the wishes as they are expressed in the will. This is one reason why an estate plan should be an evolving process throughout your life--our preferences and values can change, and we should continually (every few years or after major life events) review an existing estate plan to identify whether we want to make revisions.
There are mechanisms to dispute wills. That the will has been altered is a serious allegation and may be difficult to prove. If you believe it has, you would want to retain a probate attorney to review the disputed will as well as any evidence you believe you have regarding alterations. After seeing the will and hearing your allegations, a probate attorney (I'm not one) could more accurately advise you on the likelihood of having the will successfully contested. Even then, there may be a secondary battle of seeking to appoint someone else as personal representative.
If your uncle does move forward with an eviction, you should act quickly to review any required notices from your uncle about the eviction. Evictions under Colorado law often have very strictly enforced notice requirements. In some areas, the local office of Colorado Legal Services (http://coloradolegalservices.org/) will provide you a free evaluation of your eviction case so that you know whether the notice requirements have been satisfied by the "landlord" (here, your grandparent's estate as represented by your uncle) and whether you may have any other defenses to the eviction.
Best of luck,
Ashley
https://powellplanning.com/estate-planning
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