Q: My son passed away 10/23 and had no will but his wife is refusing to give his class ring to me to hold for his children,
Honestly she has not done anything to make this easy on me. My son had no life insurance and due to the potentially cause of death it would not have covered even if he did. I had said nicely for the ring cause I bought it for my son in high school which was 14 years ago. This was long before he and his wife were together. The wife has stated that is burned all of his belongings not leaving anything for his three sons to have. I also would like to have myself appointed as the administrator of his estate which I have already been in contact with people that he owed money too. I also paid for the funeral myself and his back rent at the place they had lived together but she had moved out of. She also has a mental health diagnosis that she does not take medication for as she should be doing. Among many other questionable things she has done. What are my chances and do I need a attorney to help me with this task.
A:
While you can apply to administer his estate, his spouse and, if they are children of another relationship, must file agreeing to allow you to administer it independent of court supervision. From your description, this does not sound likely. In addition, if any of the children is a minor, the court may well require a dependent administration, one in which every step requires prior court approval. This gets expensive. But it may be the only way for your to be reimbursed.
Please discuss the details with a local probate attorney.
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