My grandmother recently passed away. Her will split everything between her children. IRA left to one child.?

My grandmother recently passed away. In her will she stated that her estate was to be split among her five children. She named my aunt as executor. She also had an IRA with my aunt listed as sole beneficiary. Complications: (1) It is our belief she intended the IRA to be split among her children with my aunt responsible for distributing it. (2) My aunt has dementia and isn't capable of acting as executor. (3) My aunt's husband is planning to keep all the money and states that it was my grandmother's desire.

My mother is not after money, but she does not want her mother's wishes to be dishonored. We believe she didn't understand that beneficiary was different from executor. If she had stated that she wanted it left to one child, we would gladly honor that.

Is there any realistic chance to overturn the beneficiary designation? Note: There is no hope with my aunt's husband as he was sole beneficiary when his father died although he had several siblings. They got nothing.

Previous answer (Hexilieb) is correct. Let me just explain a little more.

1. The IRA is a bank account. It is held in joint account, and names a specific beneficiary. In this case, Aunt. That means that automatically, and without any further action, it automatically becomes the property of the beneficiary. It does not become a part of the estate. It is excluded (sort of like a joint checking account, a joint title on a house, or the proceeds of a life insurance policy. These, too, never become part of the probate estate).

2. The property that is not excluded from the estate (see above)_becomes part of the probate estate. While you can contest the Aunt as executor, as long as the probate estate is divided properly, why bother.

3. With regard to grandmother's intent -- the law will follow the will and documents executed. You can argue that the grandmother was mentally incompetent WHEN SHE ESTABLISHED THE ACCOUNT, but must also prove that she was mentally incompetent at the time she made her will. (why? Because the will says that she understands her assets and liabilities, and if she did, then she would have changed the account). The reason for this formality is that the courts rely, entirely, on the written documents. Unlike contracts and the like, they cannot ask the parties involved what they intended when they signed the document -- because the signor of the will is dead.

So, bottom line. You can contest BOTH documents (in which case the assets would be divided in accordance with the PRIOR will (if there is one), or by the laws of intestacy, or you can allow there to be peace in the family. Aunt and Uncle and family relationships are probably more important than money, and more families are torn apart by these issues and a few dollars than you can imagine. People believe they are fighting for principal, but its not principal any more, its about money. And the question you must ask yourself is this: would grandmother want you to fight and tear apart the family --- even if you are right.

(By the way, the chance of you succeeding on this, if you decide to fight, are very, very, very remote, and would be very expensive - in time and attorney fees. Worse, the Aunt could use assets of the estate to pay legal fees to defend the will, so if you win, you still lose).

Your aunt's attorney would have explained the terms to her prior to her signing the papers. She most likely knew what she was doing. You will have a very difficult time proving otherwise.

Yes. A will can nominate an executor but the heirs can oppose that on the grounds of incompetence r inability. The probate court will decide who is to be the executor. The IRA is difficult because it may or may not pass through the estate. I have a "payable on death" account that will go directly to my son and not as part of the estate but I couln't say if granny had such an account or not. You will need a probate lawyer to help. Unless someone makes a proper objection, the court will never know there is anything unusual.

The IRA passes outside of probate. You have no case to contest.

Get an attorney and contest the estate. However, be advised, the ENTIRE estate will held up until the Greedy Uncle relents and settles with you and your siblings (or dies and you deal with his spawn.)

You need to act fast before Uncle Greedy Pants goes to Atlantic City or Vegas.