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Can I check on aprobate will?
I have just been told that I am a beneficiary in a will from a relative and have been given a value on the probate estate. However, I want to check that the value I have been given matches the value of the estate.
Is there anywhere that a member of the public can check on intestate wills to check that I am not being short changed. I'm not complaining as it's nice to find out you have money coming to you from an unknown source but, not trusting the legal profession I would just like to see if the value I have been given matches the estimated estate value.
Hi Chris H - yep agree I did mix the terminology a bit!! The relative died without leaving a will and was the only child of my grand-father's sister. My father was the eldest of 4 children, so assume he would have been the sole beneficiary.
As he died a few years ago that left my brother and myself sharing a portion of the estate value. My brother is older than me but we both received similar letters from the search company. I'm just curious to find out what the estate value actually was and what amount we can be expected to share.
4 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
If the will is being probated you can go to the county clerk's office in the county its being probated and check out the file.
- 1 decade ago
I think there is some confusion about some of the terminology here. If the deceased left a Will then this can be 'probated'. It the deceased did not leave a Will then the estate is 'intestate'. The distinction can be important. If there is a Will then there will be at least one executor (there do not have to be two as one of the other people has suggested) who immediately has legal responsibility for distributing the estate in accordance with the Will. If there is no Will and therefore no executor, it is for one of the next of kin to apply for a Grant of Letters of Asministration to deal with the estate and, when this is granted, they become an administrator (like an executor). When a Will is probated or Letters of Administration granted this is a matter of public record and you can obtain a copy from the Probate Registry. Before a Will is probated, or before an application has been made for Letters of Administration there is nowhere you could get this information from. Even when Probate or Administration has been granted, no accounts are automatically publicly filed. You would be entitled to ask the Executor or Administrator for copies of the estate accounts though and, if these were not provided or you were suspicious as to their veracity you could apply to the Probate Registry for an order that accounts be filed formally.
This is quite a complicated area. If you want any formal advice then feel free to email me.
Source(s): I am a Solicitor - 1 decade ago
There's always at least 2 executors on the will, these people are chosen by the person they must trust them enough to know they will carry out their wishes when they're gone. They will ensure that the deceased wishes are carried out. The solicitors will also make sure that all the beneficiaries will receive what has been stated on the will. You may not trust the legal profession, but it is the law that the last will and testiment of a deceased person is carried out.
