Q: I withdrew money from the back of my friend who told me to do it if she died suddenly - the family wants the money back
She told me to withdraw the money if she died suddenly - her will was not complete - she gave me PIN number I did - she also told me to use credit card I did - family wants money back ? What do I do - I have a paper I wrote down and she initialed it before she died - she died suddenly without completion of the will - I was the only person taking care of her - she told me what to do - I don’t have the money what should I do ? I don’t want to be in trouble or go to court ?
A: This is a really sad situation. Your friend did not engage in proper estate planning and you could end up being the victim of that. Most likely you are going to have to return the money. In situations like this you need to be able to produce SOMETHING in writing, signed by the decedent, that would be accepted by the probate court as a last will and testament. If all you have is notes that YOU wrote and that the decedent merely initialed, that is not likely going to be enough to constitute a will. Your best hope would be to find an attorney who can help you negotiate some kind of settlement.
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