what should she do

Hi my name is tiffany my sisters father n law past away a few weeks ago and his children said that they cant find the will.. her and his grandaughter were there living with him. now his daughter and son are kicking her out of the house and not giving anything to his grandaugther they are using his bank card and taking money from his account, before he past away he had made it very clear that the house would be left to my neice i dont know how many times he had said that what should my sister do to make sure everything is done the right way?

Without a will, or a deed granting Joint Tenancy, it doesn't matter how many times he told your sister that he wanted her to have the house. Until he made it legal, which it appears he didn't, they have no legal entitlement to the house.

If he died intestate and a Personal Representative has not been appointed in Probate Court, any monies they are taking from his bank account (since his death) will have to be paid back. Creditors get first dibs on all estate matters (debts owed) and any residual get distributed to the heirs, usually in equality.

I'm sorry but until or unless a Will is discovered, immediate family has first rights. Your sister is not an heir. She has no rights.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Without a will, or a deed granting Joint Tenancy, it doesn't matter how many times he told your sister that he wanted her to have the house. Until he made it legal, which it appears he didn't, they have no legal entitlement to the house. If he died intestate and a Personal Representative has not been appointed in Probate Court, any monies they are taking from his bank account (since his death) will have to be paid back. Creditors get first dibs on all estate matters (debts owed) and any residual get distributed to the heirs, usually in equality. I'm sorry but until or unless a Will is discovered, immediate family has first rights. Your sister is not an heir. She has no rights.

im not talking about my sister that is not my concern my concern is his only granddaughter onto which that is who he wanted most everything to go to he also did have a will but was not done through an attorney. His kids have not showed the will to anyone to show what it says they are hiding it from her i dont think they are even giving it to the probate lawyer. Which leads me to believe they are hiding something

Then you need to petition the Probate Court and tell them there is a Will but the holder of the will is not being forthcoming with that Will. Normally, if there is a Will, it should be probated in Court.

Hire an attorney to assist in getting the Will produced if need be, but if there is a Will, it is public record and one heir cannot withhold it when other heirs are involved.

In your original post, you said they cannot find a Will. Now you say there is one but it is being withheld. You can understand the confusion.

Petition the Probate Court. Inform them he did have a Will. They will probably advise you to hire an attorney. Your sister is not considered immediate family so she cannot do anything (from a legal standpoint) to make sure things are taken care of properly.

I would be demanding to see the Will. It needs to be filed in Probate Court.

As stated before, if the grandfather did not leave a Will, or put anything in writing that grants the grandchild the property, there is nothing you or your sister can do to change that.