This was actually one of those probates that reminds you how important it is to have a valid will in place (and how an invalid will can really mess things up) an why it’s important to talk to a good estate planning attorney.
The client came to me looking for a probate attorney from a family of 9: 5 siblings and 4 step-siblings.
They needed help with their probate so they hired us to be their probate lawyers.
At the time they hired us, we thought it would be a probate with a will. After examining the will, though, it became quite clear that that wouldn’t be the case.
The will was no good. It was an invalid will.
The deceased had failed to execute it properly when it was created. Because it was executed improperly, the will was useless.
This was unfortunate because it effectively cut all of the step-kids out of the probate, at least technically.
At the end of the day the family wanted to respect the true wishes of the deceased so we came up with a unique solution that at the end of the day made everyone happy with the result.
If you are looking for a probate attorney we’d love to help. And, when life throws you a curve ball, we’ll be able to help you handle it.