Q: My mom passed in 2015 she had living rights to her sisters property she passed before my mom so my cousin owned it he
Sold the property in late October this year not once over that time did he ask me about it or let me know I had a time frame to get it cleared out I wrote him a week or 2 ago and asked about getting my moms stuff he said it’s gone it went with the house sorry ! I was like why didn’t you let me know he said I figured you had everything you wanted . Sorry so all my moms things are gone is there anything I can do I jut feel like I should be compensated or just be able to get the things I wanted I wasn’t planning on leaving a mess for anyone my mom had her things and my uncles and aunts things as well so I’m truly lost how family can be like that it’s not right or fair all he had to do as make a phone call do I have any rights? The property is in Oldtown ,Md Alleghany county
I live in Morgan county Paw Paw Wv he lives in Capon Bridge Wv
Thank you for your help
A: Your mom passed in 2015, and you never once in 5 years asked about her belongings? The house only sold this past October? I think any court would find you waited too long to assert your rights, and the property left in the house was abandoned. An estate should have been opened for your mother, and the personal representative should have gathered all property and distributed it among the heirs, either according to her will or to the heirs at law. The time to open the estate was back in 2015. It was not your cousin's responsibility. You would have had priority of appointment as PR of your mother's estate over your cousin, and only a PR can sue anyone for loss of estate assets. By now, the statute of limitations has run on any claims.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
