Q: Looking to hire and get questions answered about estate and inheritance law in PR.
My husbands father passed away in 2015. We we told he owned property and arent sure if he had other assets. He has two chilrden my husband being one and his sister. When he passed their aunt to control of everything and included them in nothing. We are looking to find out if everything was done legally and obtain a death certificate . We live in the states (Massachusetts) and i have emailed 3 attorneys from this site without any response. My husband wants to find out what he and his sister are entitled to if anything.
A: Hello, If your father in law was not a resident of Massachusetts, then it is not a Massachusetts matter unless there was property in Massachusetts in which case what is referred to as an Ancillary appointment would be needed, but this is would entail the same person being appointed in Massachusetts. Hope this helps.
A:
You didn't say where your husband's father in law lived when he passed. It is in that locality where a probate of an estate would have been opened. If it is nearby you can go to the courthouse yourself and check to see if a probate was opened and look at the file. It is public information. If it is out of town for you, you can try to find a local paralegal or other attorney service to check the courthouse records for you. Or you might try calling.
It is also possible that your father in law had no probate estate. All of his assets might have transferred automatically via beneficiary designations or pursuant to a trust. You might hire an asset search service to see if they can find any assets that are or were titled in a trust.
There is not much more any attorney can do to make suggestions without knowing which state was your father in law's domicile. We do not assume that because you are domiciled in Massachusetts that he was also.
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