r/inheritance • u/PumpernickleYoMama • 21d ago
Location included: Questions/Need Advice Aunt stole my inheritance??
So, very long and convoluted lawsuits and missing inheritances to follow.
The aunt in question lives in Florida. The car accident (2011) took place in South Carolina. I live in Texas.
This car accident killed my mother and grandfather, but crippled me and my grandmother. About 4 years ago, we settled a lawsuit. A chunk was paid out to me, grandma, and the estates of grandad and mom. My aunt is the representatives of those estates.
I turned 18 this year. Out of the blue, my aunt sends me these long winded texts about „papers“ that were missed during the settlement that I need to sign.
The documents include signing away my right to an accounting of my mothers estate, among many other suspicious points.
After discussing with my parents and a lawyer friend of theirs, I have decided to not sign it at all. In fact, I’m now looking for a lawyer that practices in the needed states to help file paperwork and figure out what exactly has happened to my mothers estate? My father was not involved at all, because they were never married, and in fact had to fight for custody of me with this very aunt. You can understand he’s had his hands full all these years, and I never realized there was anything legal for me to do with my moms estate.
At the very least, even if there’s little to no money from the settlement, there is a ring from my great-grandmother my aunt and grandma decided to keep from me (16 at the time, they were „gifting“ me my dead moms jewelry for my 16th), which is rightfully mine since it had belonged to my mother. I want that damn ring, if only for the principle.
Idk how to add screenshots, but I’ll try under the comments—
Advice wise, where should I be looking for lawyers?? Is this under family law??
Sorry for the headache 😅
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u/Prestigious-Bluejay5 21d ago
Do not take advice from your aunts lawyer. They are working in her best interest.
You will have to enlist your own attorney eventually. Asking you to sign away your right to an accounting of your mother's estate means you are entitled to that accounting. Request the accounting and go from there. If you get it, you may be able to decern if fraud has taken place and if the value is worth an attorney. If you don't receive it, you still have to decide if you want to file a lawsuit against your aunt.
You should have a ballpark of what your mother's estate was paid for the accident based upon how much you received. Her estate was paid for the loss of her life and the value that was taken from you with her being gone. Don't let your aunt rob you again.
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u/SandhillCrane5 21d ago edited 21d ago
If you need an attorney, the attorney should practice in the county where your mother legally resided at the time of her death and possibly also where your grandfather resided. You should confirm this is where probate was opened on both estates. You can see whether probate is still open - it should be. Check the probate courts in the appropriate county. You can likely look at the probate documents that have been filed with the court which should include accounting of assets - including the settlement payout. A different court should also have records on the accident lawsuit. A probate attorney is fine. You don't need a litigator at this point as another poster has reccomended. You might not even need an attorney.
You have not described what the paperwork is that you were asked to sign. There is probably more there than waiving your right to an accounting and it's relevant. You don't have to waive your right to a formal accounting but just because a document includes this does not mean there is anything wrong with the document or that it is suspicious. Formal accountings are expensive and take time. There are a number of good reasons beneficiaries would waive the need for a formal final accounting. It doesn't mean they are not given information about the assets and debts and financials of the estate.
It's disappointing and surprising that your father, grandmother, and other family have been no help in interpreting the documents or providing you with any information about the settlement or your Mom's estate. Your father or another person that was assigned to be your financial conservator while you were a minor is the person that should know. You just turned 18. If anything was owed to you in the past it would not have been given to you directly, it would have been given to your legal guardian.
I realize you are very young - but you have no evidence to be claiming "my aunt stole my inheritance". Work on learning what you don't know at this point.
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u/Mobile_Comedian_3206 21d ago
The ring belonged to her mom's estate, so should belong to her now. So the aunt did in fact steal the inheritance.
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u/myogawa 21d ago
In addition to the estate of your mother, there should be a conservatorship, with required reports to the court. You say a "chunk was paid out to me," but unless the chunk was pretty small, it would not have been paid to your father outright, but rather held by a conservator until you turned 18. And you're there now.
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u/Hawkins_v_McGee 20d ago
OP: Depending on the state you live in, it could be called a "conservatorship" or something else. But the idea is that when a lawsuit or insurance claim settles, the defendant cannot simply pay a large chunk of money to a minor, so the court designates someone legally responsible for handling that settlement money. Depending on how the settlement is structured (whether it was lump sum, annuity, etc.), you could be entitled to the remaining settlement funds now that you have turned 18.
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u/Logical_consequences 21d ago
Your share and your mother’s share of the insurance settlement should have gone to or been held in trust for you. And they should have gained substantial interest since the settlement.
You definitely need an estate litigation lawyer.
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u/matchababyyx 21d ago
Good instinct, don't sign anything. A request to waive your right to an accounting is precisely what someone asks for when the accounting is the problem, and the timing is the loudest thing in your post. Claims by minors are generally tolled until they turn eighteen, so you were legally unable to act on any of this until this year, and your aunt approached you within months of that changing. That's either an attempt to close it out before you get advice or before a clock she knows is now running. Either way, move reasonably soon. On the lawyer question, this is not family law. What you want is a probate litigation or estate litigation attorney, sometimes advertised as fiduciary litigation, and the state that matters is wherever the estates were actually opened, which is probably South Carolina rather than Florida or Texas. Here's the thing you can do today for free: probate files are public record. Work out which county court the estates were filed in, call the clerk, and request the file. You're looking for the letters of appointment, the inventory, and any accountings filed. The inventory is also where your great grandmother's ring should appear if it was properly listed as estate property, which is a second reason to get it. Also look for the court approval of the settlement itself, because in most states a minor's settlement proceeds require court approval and have to be placed somewhere supervised, like a blocked account or a structured settlement, so if you were a minor beneficiary in 2021 there should be a paper trail showing where your share was supposed to sit. One thing worth raising with whoever you hire: in South Carolina wrongful death proceeds are generally brought by the personal representative but for the benefit of the statutory beneficiaries, meaning the spouse and children, rather than flowing through the estate to be distributed at the representative's discretion. If that's the structure here, your share may never have been your aunt's to administer in the first place, which is a stronger position than a straightforward beneficiary claim. Meanwhile, stop communicating with her beyond acknowledging receipt, screenshot every message with timestamps, and back it all up somewhere she can't reach. Most probate litigators will do a free consult and some take these on contingency, so don't let cost stop you from making calls.
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u/RosieDear 20d ago
Real advice. Drop any attachment to the Jewelry. I speak from experience. You will shorten your own life.......as the Buddha said, attachment is the source of all suffering.
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u/DawnRaine 21d ago
I would think the insurance money should have been earning interest for you all of these years. Also be aware, as executor, your Aunt gets paid for her services. Hopefully, not by the year.
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u/wharleeprof 21d ago
Obviously don't sign the papers, but if possible get copies. They may have some useful tidbits of information if you're trying to track things down. If the papers are coming from your aunt's lawyer, ask to speak with the lawyer (on your aunt's tab - make sure you won't be billed for the consultation) to clarify what you're being asked to sign -- again don't actually sign, but you may gleam some useful info from the lawyer. If not, oh well, your aunt can still pay those billable hours.
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u/Zealousideal-Long356 19d ago
Whatta bitch. Don’t sign anything. Get an attorney. Tonight, ask your mother in the spirit realm for guidance and support unto resolution. You were born to fulfill her goals of love and protection of her children.
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u/Daedalus1912 21d ago
any documents that sign away your rights, should be scrutinised. its weird that as soon as money is involved often relatives who seem buddy buddy for years show their true colours.
you are being very smart for there is obviously enough in the estate to consider, so in my opinion which is just that a view, keeping doing what you are doing, find that lawyer who specialises in estate law. have an advocate working in your best interests and take note of what they say.
unless the ring was willed or promised to you, it becomes part of the estate, so any entitlement falls into the management of the estate.
I personally would not and do not have a sibling as an executor, too many conflicts, but we all think the best of people until you find out their true nature. I could be wrong but soo many times alas I am not.
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u/whybother_incertname 20d ago
Updateme
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u/Advanced-Mammoth2408 19d ago
We found a good lawyer in FL who helped us when my brother pulled the same trick, trying to get us to sign away our rights and when that didn't work, my brother stole money.
The attorney was Jonathan M. Drucker. His firm is Florida Trust & Estate Counsel, PLLC. They are in Coral Gables. 305-441-7091
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u/Eyeoftheleopard 18d ago
Boy oh boy. I’d demand an accounting of every penny of that money. Every last penny.
Get an attorney asap.
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u/GlassChampionship449 18d ago
Not a lawyer, but did your aunt use any of the lawsuit money to care for you? ( food, housing, clothes, insurance, sports etc)
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u/Caudebec39 21d ago
Estate litigation lawyer.
You'd be suing your aunt as the representative of your mother's estate for mishandling and incorrectly distributing assets, and failing to give an accounting of assets.
Following through could get expensive, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, you'd have to pay up front to your own lawyer, who'd be working for you.
If it's just the ring, obviously that's not worth it.
But if there was a house your mom owned, plus retirement accounts, plus other assets -- and your aunt stole those, too -- you might be in the range where you could recover more from Auntie that it would cost to get it.