Question about inheritance.?

I apologize for the length of this.

I'm going to have to start from the beginning so that everyone has the facts...My mother passed away when I was 12. My grandmother took my brother and me in and we lived with her until we moved out on our own. She has left us each 10,000 in her will and the rest of her money is to be distributed equally among her other 3 living children. Her estate isn't large...it is only about 300,000...which was pretty much all in her house. She was very organized and had no debt except for a 2,000 mastercard bill that has already been paid when the house was sold
My aunt is the executrix of the will.
I moved back into my grandmother's home about a year prior to her passing because she was diagnosed with terminal cancer...I am a personal care aid...and to save my family with the expense of having to hire a full time aid...I quit my job and stayed with her and took care of her for no money except for a roof over my head and food that my grandmother paid for.
My grandmother passed away in August 07...her house was put up for sale shortly after her passing...I was still in the house and was told I can stay there until I found a job and had enough money to move...I paid the utility bills for the house while I stayed there after my grandmother passed (their was no mortgage payments) I moved out in April and the house finally sold in June...
Now my 1st question is how long until the inheritance is distributed?
my next question involves my aunt the executrix...she is giving my brother and I a hard time claiming we owe money to the estate because of things my grandmother has given to us while we were living with her after my mother has passed. My grandmother paid half for our first cars and she also sent us to Europe when we were in highschool...she (my aunt) that we have to pay these things back and she will deduct it from our inheritance. Can she do this? My brother and I don't have much money for a lawyer...how can we stop her from taking money out of our inheritance?

If it makes any difference I live in NY.

It states in her will that I am to receive 10,000 and it states that my brother is to receive 10,000
that is the only time my brother and I are mentioned in the will...there is nothing in it about paying the estate back.
My aunt is obviously money hungry and wants everything she can get from us because she knows we aren't financially well off. I just wanted to make sure before my brother and I got a lawyer that we could win this against her.

I hope you get some really good answers on here. But, this is what I know...

What your grandmother gave you while she was alive has nothing at all to do with your inheritance. If so, then she would have stated as so.

I think this has more to do with the fact that she raised you after your mom died. She was in a sense your Grandmother and Mother for those years. She more than likely spent more on you than she did her biological children and their children (Your Aunts and cousins) So it seems like someone was keeping a mental note in their heads everytime your grandma spent money on you guys she kept a tab.

Can I suggest that you contact a lawyer? They will talk to you for free. She has no legal leg to stand on.

And, i am so sorry that you are having to deal with us so soon after your grandma passing. But, unfortunatly, when money is involved stuff like this happens. Don't let your aunt bully you out of your money because she has some misguided idea of what an inheritance is.

Good luck

I hope there is a will. If so, your Aunt has no right to withhold any of the inheritance. she is required to distribute funds from the will in the way it was written. Tell her if she wants repaid for what your Grandmother gave you, to take you to court for it. She would lose there. Whatever was given to you by your Grandmother was a gift unless it was presented in the will to subtract it from your inheritance.