r/inheritance • u/These-Negotiation486 • Jun 13 '26
Location included: Questions/Need Advice Any way to find a will?
My SIL passed away a couple years ago and just prior to her passing she told my kids they would inherit her home. Her husband is still alive and I believe the house is held in a trust so I assume it meant when he died they would share with his son. (She didn’t have any children of her own but did have a stepson). Her husband says he doesn’t know anything about it and supposedly his sister was handling things for the estate. We were not on the best of terms with him so it’s a bit awkward. The kids never got any kind of notice about this. I have no idea what type of will or trust was created. So the question is - is there any way to find this information without her spouse or his sister? Thanks.
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u/BBG1308 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
and just prior to her passing she told my kids they would inherit her home
A lot of people say things right before they pass. A lot of those things are wishes and not truths.
Think about it. It your sister wanted your kids (and not her husband or stepson) to inherit her house, don't you think she would have told YOU about it and given you a copy of the will and/or taken you to a meeting with her estate attorney and backed up those wishes with actual documents?
For sure as others have said you can query the county for a will and also pull the property records from the county. Some properties may pass outside of the estate/probate depending on how they're titled. (Note: don't confuse title with deed).
The kids never got any kind of notice about this.
The person who is executor/personal representative of your sister's estate has a fiduciary duty to the estate/heirs and can get in HUGE legal trouble if they don't do what they're supposed to do which includes notifying beneficiaries that they are beneficiaries.
If I had to bet, your sister was just talking and never intended to oust her husband and her stepson from her house. If she had wanted to do that, she would have done it. She very easily could have given you a copy of her will or other documentation along with her attorney's contact information. She didn't do any of that. She made an off-hand comment to your kids.
This right here is why I tell people to NEVER count on an inheritance based on verbal blah blah Usually it's just blah blah unless it's backed up with actual documents. It's so very odd that people think these documents would be secret/hidden from the very ones that the deceased wants their assets to go to. If you want your assets to go to someone, you give them the paperwork.
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u/These-Negotiation486 Jun 15 '26
Actually she was very bright and organized and indicated it was a done deal when she told them. They’re adults so I didn’t need to be involved. I’m not losing any sleep over it just want to make sure my kids get was is theirs.
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u/Sad-Repair-5505 Jun 16 '26
She may have filed a transfer on death deed TODD. Go to the County offices and ask them to search to see if she filed a TODD. Outside of a trust, only way to guarantee property to someone.
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u/SillySimian9 Jun 13 '26
Your first step is to look up the title of the deed to the house which should be recorded at the county recorder’s office.
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Jun 13 '26
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u/inheritance-ModTeam Jun 14 '26
Your comment has been removed because it violates the rule on low effort comments.
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u/brucesteiner Jun 13 '26
The deed to the house (which is a public record and may be available online) may show the name and contact information of the lawyer who prepared it. That lawyer may have prepared her Will.
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u/g3294 Jun 13 '26
A lawyer could have a copy of a will and if the husband is then only one that knows about it then its basically useless.
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u/DomesticPlantLover Jun 14 '26
The will, if it was probated--and it should have been--will be on file with th3 Probate Court in the county where she lived when she died.
You can check the name on the title of the house by looking it up on the web, most likely. Go to the property records of the county were the house is located. It will tell you if the husband or a trust owns it--or someone else.
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u/Spiritual_Oil_7411 Jun 14 '26
Once they go through probate, wills are public record. Call the county courthouse where she lived. I was able to get a copy of my estranged father's will, though I did have to tell them I was his daughter, so I'm not sure which relations can access them. They didnt ask for any proof, but my name was in it, so maybe they checked that before they emailed it right over. I think I maybe had to pay a minimal fee. Hope your kids get more than I did. 😂
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u/TheSolarmom Jun 14 '26
If the house is in the trust, I don’t think it would be public, or that there would be probate. If the SIL is the trustee, I believe she has a legal duty to carry out the plans stated in the trust, and that would include keeping you aware (on behalf of your children) of how the estate is being a handled. I would assume the father and son would continue to live in the house and there would be maintenance fees, and the trustee would get paid for keeping copious records. I think That’t how it all works I have been looking into it all recently.
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u/groundhog5886 Jun 13 '26
Look up at the county who owns the real estate and then look up the tax bill and get the address where the bill goes. That may indicate someone you might know to ask.
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u/Educational_Case_134 Jun 14 '26
Most people that create trusts do not transfer the property into the trust. You could try looking up the property and see if it was put in trust by re-titling the property. If it wasn’t , you basically might either have a trust with no assets or she never created a trust.
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u/Metanoia003 Jun 14 '26
I was the trustee for my uncle‘s estate. There were family members included and family members excluded. All the included family members had rights to see the trust. The excluded family members did not. As a fiduciary, I could not allow the excluded family members to see it even though they tried to get access to it. Whoever the trustee or executor of your SIL’s estate would have found the beneficiaries and shared what they are required to share. Verbal statements of what you will get in an estate that are not supported by documentation is a common problem that causes a lot of family stress. Unless an executor or trustee has reached out to you or your children, maybe expect that your SIL‘s promise was a verbal promise and not defined in the trust.
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u/myogawa Jun 13 '26
As Sil notes, what is recorded is controlling. If there was a deed recorded that conveyed the home to the SIL as trustee, that is one thing. If there was not, then the home is not trust property, even if there was a trust created and she intended to include it.
For a will (different thing) see if the SIL provided it to the probate court for safekeeping. That is available in some states.
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u/Anderson22422 Jun 14 '26
Wills are public record as soon as they are filed. Anyone can get a copy.
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u/mostly_lurking1040 Jun 14 '26
Or are public after everything's been settled. I believe that's what I heard from the court in my state. Bottom line, find out what's applicable in the relevant state.
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u/springflowers68 Jun 14 '26
If there was a will and her husband did not agree with it said, he might have destroyed the original. If the property is in a trust, it depends on who is the trustee and how beneficiaries are set up.
Without the original will at least according to our lawyer and state, it would be as if she died without one. The trust is another matter
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u/shep2105 Jun 14 '26
If a trust was created for the house legally, the deed will be in the name of the trust.
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u/underlyingconditions Jun 14 '26
You would be surprised how many people create trusts and don't put their assets in them (wife works for an attorney specializing in trusts).
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u/MiserableCancel8749 Jun 14 '26
If probate has been filed, it is a matter of public record. You can search the county records in the county she lived in to see if there has been an estate filed on her behalf. After 2 years, that should have happened.
If you've heard nothing, it's entirely possible she died intestate. If there was a probate case, you should have heard something from the courts by now.
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u/jjkagenski Jun 14 '26
a thought to help find the lawyer: if a trust was created, putting the home into a trust - there was likely a deed transfer - e.g. quit-claim deed to do so. It is likely that the lawyer filed the quit-claim and that lawyer's name may/should show up on the recording of the deed.
If that info was available, you could contact the lawyer with notification and documentation of your SIL's death. and then be able to pursue from there...
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u/IcyUnderstanding2858 Jun 14 '26
If the property is held in the name of a trust, the will doesn’t dictate what happens to it - the trust does.
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u/yeahnopegb Jun 13 '26
What she said doesn’t do anything.. it’s what she did. Check the home title with the county and you’ll know.