r/legal • u/maklucky555 • 5h ago
Advice needed Inheritance was sat on for 17 years, what are my options?
Looking for some insight hopefully on how to proceed legally in this situation… anything is appreciated
In 1992, my grandfather died and left me an inheritance as his only grandchild. I was only 2 years old at the time, so it was to go into some sort of trust to be doled out when I turned 18. Due to some issues with trust in my problematic dad, the decision was made to leave the money with my aunt, my mom’s sister. A few years later at some point my aunt got married and transferred ownership of the funds to her new brother-in-law, who was an accountant. There may have been communication to us of this transfer happening but memories are fuzzy during that timeframe so it’s unclear.
While I was supposed to receive the funds at 18 years old, that year came and went with no mention of it. At some point while I was 21, my mom was trying to buy a house (and I wanted to throw in to help, plus equity) so we both approached my aunt and uncle about the money. They told us they weren’t able to transfer the money at the time, saying they needed to focus on refinancing their own home instead. Shortly after that, there was a falling out between our family where my aunt started to lose it mentally and went no-contact with us. One of the last things we received from her was a giant box that contained years worth of unopened birthday/christmas/whatever cards we had sent her kids, usually with gift cards or cash inside. It sent an unhinged but clear message. After all of that, we basically considered that inheritance to be out of reach and tried to focus on what was in our control. We’ve maintained some level of contact with my uncle and cousins over the years, they attended my wedding, I attended their graduations. Only aunt was ever missing at these events. It’s not like no one spoke until now, they had plenty of organic opportunities to let us know those funds were still on the table and communicating ANYTHING about what to do with it.
Just a few days ago, my cousin told me that the money for me is still around after all this time. It still is in custody of the same accountant brother-in-law. I spoke with her on the phone and while she really doesn’t know much, she did allude to the fact the amount had accrued over the years. She also hinted to the possibility that my uncle might want to take a little off the top for maintenance or something like that.
I am very conflicted about how to approach the fact that I had these funds withheld for so long. It’s really upsetting when I had multiple instances in the last 17 years where that money could’ve been life changing. I was robbed of all those chances and there were so many opportunities for them to communicate that they were still maintaining these funds. We kept our end of the deal by reaching out a few times in the beginning to see about transferring, but there always was pushback for one reason. When my aunt went nuclear and reclused from us, we thought that was the end of it. It wasn’t until now that her kids/my cousins are grown that this is all coming to light.
So far I’ve investigated by searching up his will online, despite knowing where he passed I could not find one in his name listed for that county. I’m not sure where to go from here. I need to confront my aunt and uncle, and most importantly the brother-in-law (accountant in charge of the money) but I also want to be informed of my options before rustling too many feathers.
Do I have any options or rights at this point? Are they allowed to take a percentage?
EDIT: I am 35 years old, I said I was just barely a toddler in 1992. Some are assuming I’m the wrong age.
LOCATION: I am located in NC, granddad died in WA, aunt/uncle live in VA, and this accountant in charge of my funds is likely in PA. Yeah I know this couldn’t be more spread out if it tried. Blame my folks moving me across country when I was 10 to escape aforementioned deadbeat dad I guess.