Q: When my uncle passed away, a friend of his applied for administrator. I am his next of kin.
He was divorced, no kids, my grandparents and mother (his only sibling) have all passed. The administrator filed that there was no will at the time of death, and also told me there was not one. He has now filed a handwritten "will" that states my uncle signed all property, homes etc to that person 2 months before his death. The deed of the property I am worried about was worded in such a way that when my mother and my uncle had both passed, that property was left to me. This new "will" is dated after that deed. I am concerned that he will have rights to that property.
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A: As a general rule, when there is a conflict between a deed and a will, the terms of the deed prevail. So, for example, if the deed was a joint tenancy deed with right of survivorship, and you are the last surviving owner, then you now own that property in your sole name, and it does not matter what the will says. But the only way to give you any definitive legal advice on this would be to review the deed and the will. Your best bet is to hire a probate attorney to represent your interest in the probate to make sure that his estate is administered correctly.
A: The deed will control should gets the property. You may need an attorney to challenge the will if you think your uncle signed it under duress or coercion.
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