Q: My mom died without a will. Are the jewelries will be part of the estate?
Our stepfather doesn't want to give the jewelries from my mother. Before she died she told him that it belongs to her children. Most of them were bought when she was still single (not married to him) and some are from my grandmother. What action should we do? He doesn't even want to show us the jewelries. We also need to know if her husband will get 50% of her 401k? As for her bank accounts, can one of her children be the executor or is it her husband?
A:
Everything she owned is part of her estate. Personal property which she bought before the marriage is her separate property, a share of which passes to her children from a previous marriage.
Any heir can probate the estate. Hire a local probate lawyer.
1 user found this answer helpful
A: Your mother's statement that her jewelry should go to her children when she dies might be valid as an oral will if there were at least three credible witnesses. If that is the case, one of the witnesses needs to come forward within six months of your mother's date of death to probate the oral will. If you wait too long, the oral will will be considered null and void. If it has not yet been six months since your mother died, do not delay. Hire a local probate attorney to help you today.
1 user found this answer helpful
A: Please contact a probate attorney before the jewelry is lost. It should go to her children from a previous marriage for the most part.
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