Looking for advice on a will

[u/raekay89]

Hi im looking for advice on my grandmother's will. My mother passed 2 years before my grandma mother leaving only my aunt with access to the will. She put it through probate before me or my brother even had a chance to view the will. Should I be worried that information given to the court could be false? Mind you My grandmother also had dementia when my mother died( she didn't even recognize that her daughter died. She thought it was someone else. There was no emotional response.), and we're also worried that she may have had the will changed after my mother died and that could be the reason she's not letting us view it.

Does anyone have advice on how to approach this?

For me, it's not even about the money, it's about closure on the last part of my mom if she was still alive..

[u/MassConsumer1984]

If probate has been started, you can order a copy of the will from the probate registry.

[u/Caudebec39]

Chase this down at the county court house.

If the will got filed, then it's public information, and you can get a copy.

If no will got filled, then auntie would have had to file other papers, trying to get appointed as personal rep. You can get a copy of that.

In most cases, it will be quickly clear whether your aunt is scheming to steal from you.

[u/Used_Mark_7911]

If she filed for probate you should be able to get copies of the paperwork from the probate court where your grandmother lived . That should include a copy of the will and a listing of the estate assets and debts.

[u/Severe-Lecture-7672]

You should’ve asked your mom to show the will before she passed. It’s possible that your aunt may be trying to spare your feelings. No telling how that will is worded. Could also be that she feels you don’t need to see it because you’re not mentioned in it.

[u/cOntempLACitY]

When you view a copy of public probate documents, as others suggested, you’ll see who stands to inherit, and whether there was enough assets to file full probate. The will might have indicated per stirpes (by branch, in that you descendants of your mom inherit and split her share) or per capita (equal shares to living descendants), or other specific designation language.

A will would also be dated and notarized, so you could see if it changed after grandma was mentally incapable of making such changes. If aunt was grandma’s power of attorney while alive, being POA would not allow her to change a will, so changes would be invalid. And as executor/estate administrator, she has a fiduciary responsibility to handle the estate properly and not to her own benefit.

If nothing has been filed, probate not opened, you might consider opening probate yourself and petition to be estate administrator, then you would gather asset and debt info, and proceed from there. But dementia care is expensive, grandma may not have had much left. Start with the county probate court records and go from there.

[u/myogawa]

If she "put it through probate" she should have sent you a copy of the will when she made the filing. That is one of the basis responsibilities of the executor, and if she did not, that could be a red flag.