Can someone please help me with a will/inheritance related question?? It's very important! ?

OK I'm not sure exactly where to start... My grandmother passed away in June and we have been dealing with all of the different processes of her will ever since then. She left 20% of her estate to me, 20% to my brother, 20% to her daughter in law (my mom), 20% to her son (from her first marriage), 10% to her grandson (the son of what she considered to be her "1/2" grandchild, and 10% to her great grandchild (which is the son of the "1/2" grandson)...

Ok I know it sounds pretty complicated and the whole "1/2" thing is the way my grandmother viewed the situation, not my opinion or anything. My father died in 1992 and my aunt (dad's twin) died in 2006. So obviously my family has suffered a lot over the years, etc.

My mother has touched based with the law office dealing with the will in Pennsylvania, several times and was finally told we will not know the "dollar" amount until probably December or January. Seems like an awful long time, but I do know it's a fairly decent estate...

Come to find out today, the wife of the "1/2" son is furious that my mother was put in the will... She thinks it is taking away from her sons and is upset she was not left anything. So the attorneys office that is dealing with the whole situation knows the wife very well...

We are now worried that she might be trying to pull a fast one and mess up our shares/portions of the will. And I need some legal advice on what can be done, if anything to affect our portions. This whole thing is ridiculous and the will is based off of my grandmother's wishes. My grandmother wanted to make sure the three of us were some what taken care of and felt guilty about my father and close aunt passing...

Plus the "wife" said my grandmother gave her my grandmother's wedding ring. And she basically took it off of her cold body and expected everyone to believe that. As far back as I can remember my grandma always told me that when she passes she will leave me her wedding ring, because I am her little angel and wants to make sure I'm always taken care of. Now this is so wrong that this women is trying to mess up my and my immediate families inheritance...

My step-dad is an attorney and practiced many different types of law. He is going to step in shortly to help and get to the bottom of this "scam"... But until then, I would appreciate any insight about my situation. Can this woman mess anything up for us? Can she lengthen the time for us to get the matter settled? Please let me know what I should fear, if anything!

Thank you so much, I'm stressing about this right now and could use a piece of mind on the matter!

Thank you in advance and I will definitely give 10 pts to the best/most helpful answer!!!

It appears that your grandmother left a will which has been admitted to probate in the State of Pennsylvania. I am not admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, but in the US, if a will has been admitted to probate, then generally the only way for the matter to be delayed is if someone files an objection or a contest to the validity of the will.

Generally, the only way to get a will set aside is if the will fails to conform to state law regarding wills, or if the person making the will was not legally able to make a will..i.e. was not competent. Contesting a will is a very difficult and expensive procedure and rarely provides the satisfaction that the people involved would like.

If your step-father is an attorney, then you should listen to his advice. I don't know if he's licensed in Pennsylvania, but he should probably have a copy of the will, and he can also probably tell you what the procedures are if you have additional questions.

The process of contesting the will can delay matters, but only to the extent that the court permits. I hope this helps.

as far as i know as will is legal and binding maybe try getting a new attorney in on it since the others know the other wife so well

Assuming grandma's will was in proper legal form, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. The main purpose of a will is to be able to name whomever you want as your beneficiaries, in unequal shares if so desired, being able to include people who would not inherit under the state's intestacy laws or conversely, cut out those who WOULD be included under them. If you're lucky, the wedding ring will have been willed to you & you will get it back from the thief. It is not uncommon for it to take months or even years to settle out a sizeable estate, especially if real estate that must be sold is involved, so the time frame sounds reasonable enough.

Hope this helps a little bit!

Any will can be contested. And I have a friend that was in a situation like this. His family was suppose to receive something in a will. It was contested then taken away. So yea, hire a good lawyer if you have to. Though if she tries to contest your share. You might as well contest hers. Probably won't cost you much more and you never know, could screw her out of the will. As for the ring, I'm not sure, not a lawyer my self and don't know the law to well. Hope this helps.

Oh yea she can mess things up. she can begin to challenge the accuracy or validity of the will and therefore it would have to go in to arbitration and be validated. That could take months and months and if there is a lot of money at steak then years.

Your right to have an attorney look in to this and put a stop to it before it gets out of hand.


Good luck!