Inheritance advice needed...
 

This is a long story, but I'll try to keep it short.

I was born in 1944 and my father was a GI serving in England. My mother was already married at the time, but I think the liason was consentual; He was ordered by the court to pay costs towards my upkeep, but never did; and he shortly thereafter returned to the US. My mother never pursued non payments; She had enough to deal with explaining my existance to her husband when he also returned from the war effort abroad! She had put his name down as my father on my birth certificate!

Fast forward to 1991, With much help from army records, I managed to track down my father; He was married with a son, grandchildren etc. so he would drive about 70 miles to meet me, my wife, and daughter; He was particularly fond of her. Needless to say, his other family have no clue of our existance, and thats how it stayed. After much debate, he agreed to take a DNA test to prove he was my father (my mother died in 1984) which gave me dual UK/US citizenship. We subsequently emigrated to Arizona which is where we are to this day. It was plainly evident that he didnt want his 'family' to find out about me, and I think he felt he'd done his part for me, and perhaps belatedly my mother in doing the paternity test in order to move to the US. He died 8 years ago (I read it in a Wyoming newspaper online) and my existance is still unknown to his family to this day.

Over the years, I have come to learn from another source what he really thought of my mother, and that he had a derogatory term for me, which he laughingly shared with his army buddy's; It is for this reason, and the fact that my mother was repeatedly in and out of mental facilities before she took her own life in 1984 that I started this thread. He was incidently responsible for another child during his time in my home town in the UK but that case never went to court!

To my knowledge, his wife is still alive well in her 80's, and his son and a lot of various family members are still in Wyoming.

My question therefore is: Does anybody think I can claim at least part of his original estate? There are probably wills involved, particularly in respect of his surviving wife, but could there be any legal way I could make any claim given my circumstances and the evidence I have? I'm not very optomistic but given what I've heard about his wartime conduct, I wouldnt mind giving it a go.

Any help would be appreciated.

Pete

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

I'm going to be devils advocate here for which I apologize but...
Is it worth it? Honestly? It would involve a lot of stress, time, effort and money to pursue this.

I'm by no means a lawyer and can't comment on your legal position.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

Is it worth it? Probably not, and the fact that stress and time would be involved is a given. As for money; I dont have a bottomless pit, but I was hoping I might get some idea as to my chances from an attorney about the legal position. I do know this is complex though.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

You should be able to get an attorney to appraise the situation and tell you if it's worth pursuing without it costing you anything.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

I understand you anguish, but you really need to think before acting on this one. It will potentially be exceedingly costly.

Also if the family can show he had knowledge of you prior to dying and still actively CHOSE to keep you out of the original will, this would be sufficient at least in UK law.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

I don't think you would have any claim under British law. Who people leave their money to is entirely up to them (unlike Napoleonic code in France).

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

I know without a shadow of a doubt that none of his family know of my existance, so any will he left wouldnt have made any mention of me. Thats the part I'm interested in incidently; If his will contained the verbage "to my only son, John" could that not be contested, since its not true?

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

If he'd wanted you to have any of his estate he would have left it to you. Why turn the lives of his family upside down? He obviously (from what you have written) didn't want them to know about you and he obviously (from what you have written) didn't want you to have any part of his estate.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

Depending on the state law in Wyoming and also local county laws, probate records may be public and easily searchable (or for a small fee). You'll have to check the websites of the district courts.

After further reading on the subject, I suspect you lack grounds, standing and timeliness.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

If he died intestate, then perhaps. That would vary based upon state law.

If he had a valid will and you weren't named as a beneficiary, then it is highly unlikely that you have a claim.

(If he was smart, then his will contained a no-contest clause that disinherited anyone who sued the estate. If he wanted you to have nothing, then he may have included another clause that specifically disinherited you.)

If you don't care about your relationship with his family, then I'd start by demanding a copy of the will. Contact the family and try to contact the executor of the estate. You may also want to contact the court in his state of residence to see whether there are probate records.

My guess is that you aren't owed anything. Whether you want to confirm that is your decision, of course.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

This seems right, though I understand how the OP is feeling.

OP - I think you are, probably justifiably, angry and distressed. Unfortunately, you can't get peace from that with money, let alone from a protracted court battle involving innocent parties (his other family).

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

It is likely that the state where your father died in would have jurisdiction and not a UK court (note to poster that referred to UK law).

If you had contested the will right after he died, you may have had a reasonable chance to get part of the inheritance (sometimes heirs settle to allow probate to complete) but now that the will has been probated, it is unlikely that the court would award you an inheritance. Even if the courts made an award, then you would likely have to file a lawsuit against each of the heirs and be awarded part of their inheritance and then you would have to try to collect by starting garnishment proceedings.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

Yes I understand too and I understand that he must feel hurt...but it was his father's money and it was up to his father who he left the money/estate to.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

And therein lies the problem Jerseygirl, and incidently, I thought someone would pick up on the "turning their lives upside down" aspect. Its a fair point, and I have no particular intention of doing that. I just wondered what anybody thought from a legal standpoint about the situation I've outlined.

Re: Inheritance advice needed...
 

IMO (not an expert) not a chance in hell, you have no grounds to contest the will. I have found that most lawyers give a free consultation, try that route.