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My aunt 86 who has Alzheimer's/Dementia is bed bound, voided a will back in 1998 (found) and my mother states that a new one was prepared making me the heir to home, contents and car. This will has not been found and the attorney that prepared it passed away years ago. What can be done?

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In some states people register the will at the court house. (we did it in PA and NC) by any chance did you check there? Is there some sort of law board in a state that keeps track of old records for lawyers that die?
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I think the will is registered in the county court house.
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Stressedmom - if the lawyer that prepared the will your SIL is in possession of is deceased, his practice may have been turned over to another attorney. I suggest you check on that. But if a new will is prepared, it "overwrites" any previous wills - so I would suggest your mother-in-law have another one prepared, signed, dated, witnessed and notarized. It's not going to help with any money spent in the past by your SIL, but it will help with any future situations. Good luck.
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Wills by law do not have to be registered in a Court. Did you check with the attorney's estate to see if wills kept by him have been saved. It might be on a disk. How does your mother know for sure your aunt wrote a revised will? Did she ever see it? Maybe your aunt meant to write a new one and never got around to it. In any event, with her having dementia and it sounds like her time is near, unless you can produce another will the former one will stand.
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I want to know,.... If there is a Will thats made by the parent. Through the urging of one of the 2 children, and with only that sibling and her spouse present, and knowing about it. Is there a way, that won't cost more $$$, to find out who, where and what it's contents are? We did go to our Lawyer and asked some Q's. when the SIL so willingly threw the POA at her brother, but only found out that the Lawyer who wrote this passed away some years back!? We have had no luck in getting any info from this sister on anything to do with financial, medical or legal matters since she up and checked out on any responsibility of helping care for her mom (my MIL). Prior to all this the SIL took it upon herself to become POA, and as such went to town on depleating mom's assets, to zero balance! Her brother (my husband) now has POA and we are taking care of everything for my MIL. We have to since she no longer has the funds to do so. Hence this is the reason we would like to find out some important facts. This SIL is astranged from us because we called her on what she has done, not only to us, but her own mother too!! Can we search on our own to find this Will? We are currently supporting 3 households with one income., so we are strapped as far as hireing an attorney. It just can't be done now, so this is why I would like to see if there is any way we can find this out on our own!? Thank you all for your answers
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Did someone take over his practice when he died? If so, they should have all of those records. also, your Mom might be wrong - your grandmother may have voided one will and then never got around to having another written up. If she did, she should have a copy. Since she has Alzheimer's, I don't think having a new will written up now would be valid.
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There does not have to be an attorney involved in a will. I worked in law enforcement, and in fact did do what's called a "Living Will", and gave it to my daughter. I was not married, and upon my death, it would be honored in court. I have since gotten married and my husband has grown kids himself. If we both pass, her "Living Will" will still be good, but there is nothing to stop his kids from coming over and grabbing everything we have because they are his sons. The smartest thing for me to do now is my husband and I to have an attorney draw out another will, which will superceed my daughters "Living Will" and divide all things legally. Ultimately, if you're trying to get some money back that was spent, that in itself will require a court order to enforce your position. You said she had POA, if in fact she had the power over her finances, then you may not find many attorneys who would want to take this case because it's all going to be work pinning down how much money was spent and on what, and the payout to the attorney won't be much if anything, except for what you will have to pay him to hire him. OR, if you are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have proof to take to court. I'm truly sorry, but if it were me, I would take away that unwanted stress now and try and make as many changes in your life for your familys' sake as soon as possible. If you want to try and at least find out if there was something, yes, lots of attorneys turn over their practice to other attorneys, but if it was a sudden death, they could be sitting in his basement. If you know his name, the internet is a great thing, and could lead you to his wife, family etc. But think about your stress level and health. It's a shame we have to deal with these greedy people, but I strongly believe in what goes around, comes around. Good Luck.
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What happened to the attorney's office records? Often a relative of the attorney will still have them and certainly he or she would have had a copy in his or her files. Failing that, the government will decide who gets what. After all bills are paid, they will distribute it to the next of kin.
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Although we are not looking for compensation at all. We do want to get all my MIL's affairs in order, as she is no longer able to make any competent decisions regarding her legalities. So this was the reason we asked the SIL for all her paperwork. My Mil is 93, and is in stage 7 of her dementia. Thank you all for your helpful answers, Godbless and hugs....
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Stressedmom-this question was about the one who wrote it. If you have another set of circumstances, then address them in your own question please.
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