Q: My brother lied to us about what's in my aunt will, but it didn't require probate.
My brother lied to us about what's in my aunt will, but it didn't require probate.
My aunt passed Nov. 2019. My brother is the executor & mad at me. I need to know when he has to be done. She left me 10k, jewelry, books, etc.
I ordered a copy of the will. Its public because she died before her house sold. My brother said it went to probate, but the clerk says told me it did not.
Since it didn't go to probate, I'm trying to figure out what our rights are, as he's lied to me & others about what is in the will & what we're supposed to get.
Even worse, the expensive jewelry we neices are supposed to get is "missing". He even mailed a diamond ring & it was fake. I doubt he knew/cared, but his daughter, or girlfriend will. He told the court there was no expensive jewelry, there was.
So no idea what happened, but he's not doing what he's supposed to do and even lying. Without it being a probate case, what are our rights as the inherited? When does he have to finish?
A: Don't rely on what your brother tells you. If he did not file and open her estate with the probate court, then the court has not appointed him or anyone else to be the executor. A will merely nominates a person to be executor, but the court must act to appoint the executor. So your brother has no legal authority to do anything, and family members could have legal claims against him for wrongfully disposing of her property. The only way to find out is to retain a probate attorney to review all the facts and advise you. If there is personal property to distribute, then probate of her will should proceed for the executor to prepare an inventory and distribute her property with the approval of the court. If he is not doing that, then another heir can file with the probate court to open her estate and apply to be executor or administrator. The court then requires anyone who has her will to file it with the court. If there is no will that can be found, then her personal property will be distributed by her administrator according to Ohio law to her surviving spouse, children, or other relatives. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local probate attorney.
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