Any legal experts here?

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Originally Posted by dakidski

We have a local saying: "You dont know people until you inherited with them". Don't you think you could talk her into moving out? Appeal to her reason? Perhaps help her find another place to live?

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Yeah, we tried that right after my dad died. My brother and I asked her what it would take to make her happy, she would never give an answer. I think that she believes somehow it's all going to end up hers. She's on her third lawyer (the first two dropped her), her rights to contest the will have been barred and she's not allowed to ask for a years allowance. As far as I know, there's nothing else she can persue other than an "estate for years" but that is unlikely as well.

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Bah, Im pretty sure if you sell the house she will say that she is entitled to a cut. IANAL but neither is the person that originally brought it up.

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Our lawyer said we can't sell the house till my sisters eighteen because of provisions in the will.

do you have any family your sister might want to stay with? If so, send her there, then stop paying the water bill and the electric bill. You can live a freind during that period.

Oh, and sue the fuck out of her if she damages the house during this period. She may live there, but if you own the house, I doubte she has the right to damage it.

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Originally Posted by sleeveboy

The whole situation smells fishy to me.

On what basis is she legally entitled to live on the property? Does she actually have some kind of right to the property, like an easement or something? Is the property part of some kind of trust? If not, then the language is merely precatory (i.e. meaningless).

It sounds like she might have some kind of legal right to the property. If you plan to sell the house, be sure it's clear of any legal encrumbrances that might have been created by the will. That probably means you might have to pay your stepmom some money.

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No, the will only states that she can live in the house till her daughter is eighteen. There is also a paragraph stating that dad puposefully leaves her nothing else.

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do you have any family your sister might want to stay with? If so, send her there, then stop paying the water bill and the electric bill. You can live a freind during that period.

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I'm trying to get my sister to go live with her cousins for a while but I don't have high hopes. But yeah, I've been trying to do just this.

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Oh, and sue the fuck out of her if she damages the house during this period. She may live there, but if you own the house, I doubte she has the right to damage it.

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If she damages property, I can kick her out, or so I've been told. It would just be a matter of proving she done it.

I need some advice quick. Her new lawyer said that the phrase "live in the house until Tiffany is eighteen" gives Teresa an "estate for years" which gives her exclusive rights to our house (meaning she can kick me out). Somehow, the judge bought it and granted her an "estate for years" even though it's contradictory to the entire will. We went back to court to ask for a re-trial. I gave my lawyer an outline of what I wanted him to present to the judge (stuff about testators intent mostly, and some affidavits from his family and friends). My lawyer didn't present any of this to the judge. After a few minutes the judge cut my lawyer off and said 'give me everything and I'll take a look at it and call you later on this week with my decision'. I feel that it's crucial that the judge gets more information, such as the circumstances in my dad's life that contributed to the will being written the way it was written. Would contacting the judge through email or a phone call be a mistake? I'm thinking it would, but I also feel that I need to do all that I can. He'll probably make his decision tomorrow so if anybody has an experienced opinion on this, please let me know ASAP. I'll be up all night. Thanks in advance.

God, you have been dealing with this old batty about the situation since September of '05. I bet this has made the whole time absolutely miserable; I'm really sorry for both you and your sister.

Sounds like you need a better lawyer.

You cannot contact the judge. Time to start looking up a malpractice lawyer if you lose.

Neither of these guys are the one that wrote the will, right?

I figured as much. No, neither of these guys drafted the will.

Did your lawyer explain why he did not submit certain evidence?

Oh gods he didn't submit evidence? I feel ill every time i read or hear about a case where claims are made without any evidence submitted. Yeah, I 2nd the malpractice option.