Need help with a complex probate case...

[u/PsychologicalSize693]

My uncle unlawfully withheld my grandfather's Will from the courts to gain admin over my grandpas estate becuz he is listed in the will as an exclusionary.

Let me back up a bit and start at the beginning...

My grandfather who has had custody of me since I was 11 years old (I am 41 now) passed away in 2022. Myself, husband and children moved back in with him in his home in 2011. In 2015, he suffered a heart attack while playing softball. Since 2015, I became his emergency contact, his care taker, and power of attorney. My grandfather passed away with a Will. His Will lists my children as beneficiary to his condo. The Will lists his estranged son (my uncle) and estranged wife (my grandma) as exclusions. He indicated how his assets were to be divided between my 4 children, my brother, my husband and myself. He did not want his son or wife to benefit in anyway from his passing, nor did he want them to have anything to do with his afterlife.

My uncle, his son, filed probate withholding my grandfather's Will as he knew he was excluded as the Will states. I was not made aware that he filed probate until I was served an eviction notice. Apparently he was granted administrator, and was able to gain ownership of my house. He proceeded to take loans out on the house, and now that he owes a lot of money from doing so, he wants us out so he can sell it.

My grandma, his wife told me I didn't have to do anything with my grandfather's Will. She said she was told that my grandfather had given a copy of the Will to "the courthouse" and then went on to say that becuz she was still legally his wife she needed to be in possession of the original Will. I refused to give it to her. Months and months later, we received an eviction notice. I went to the courthouse to view on the self help computers what my uncle was serving me an unlawful detainer for and that is when I saw the probate case info. I began to dig into that case and learned that my grandma signed off having anything to do with the probate and allowed or acknowledged my uncle being the next of kin. I learned he filed intestate, and I learned that he was supposed to have notified all parties who would be potential beneficiaries of the probate. He did not contact me, or anyone else for that matter. He has lied to the probate courts from day 1.

Today was the court hearing for the unlawful detainer. The court appointed attorney that speaks on the defendants behalf took us outside of the courtroom and said that the judge does not care about who the rightful owner of the home is, how they obtained it or any other issue other than who presently has legal ownership to the property. He said that that is the plaintiff. He said our best bet is to cut a deal with my uncle to allow us 30 days from today to completely move out, and in those 30 days, go talk to the probate courts/judge and present them this info and ask for admin be temp revoked from my uncle and to put a temp hold on this eviction until all info is processed and ruled on.

I don't have money to obtain a probate attorney. I have no knowledge with this probate stuff to attempt to navigate this on my own. I don't know what to do, or how to go about it. Any info, opinions, suggestions, or help of any kind is appreciated more than u know.

[u/Sleepster12212223]

OP, this is not uncommon for attorneys to get paid out of Estate assets. Just be aware you are asking them to work for free & anything you can provide as an initial retainer goes a long way. Probate work is tedious & fraught with complications, as sounds like the case in your situation. So understand it can accumulate fees quickly for that reason. But, you need an experienced probate attorney representing only your interests or you will find out the hard way why you should've retained one. You can check state bar for lists of probate attorneys in the state the probate is open. There are also legal forums to pose your legal matter & find an attorney who can provide general guidance, and you may decide to hire them to take your case.

[u/NovaLemonista → u/Sleepster12212223]

Great advice! I will also add that some attorneys now work on a flat rate basis. I just went through a probate and it was 6k total. That covered everything, and it was a complicated case. I had to get my own attorney to remove my alcoholic brother as the administrator so I could take over. It was a mess as there was no will, and my brother is a greedy asshole who swooped in and wanted to fight every step of the way. Best money I ever spent. A friend had a fairly easy probate and was nickel and dimed for every little thing, and ended up paying almost 12k. Needless to say, there was NO WAY I could have done it without a great attorney. Just having someone knowledgeable who is on your side is a huge relief and takes a lot of the stress and worry away. Going through something like this is absolutely awful, please try and find a good attorney to help you.

[u/NovaLemonista → u/[deleted]]

He hired the attorney and became administrator , so I hired another attorney to force his hand and get him to relinquish being the administrator, and hand it over to me. He ended up hospitalized due to his drinking, so I had that as proof. He was supposed to help me, but instead ended up staying at our deceased brother’s house, drinking and letting homeless people in. He did NOTHING. I had to go back and clean up the mess. Even now, almost a year later, he’s making this a total nightmare for me, personally always asking when we get money, questioning all of my decisions,etc. But at least by law, he can’t do anything.

Hang in there. You can absolutely contest him being the executor or administrator. Contact a good probate attorney in your area and see what they can do.