A question about probating the will of a long dead person

[Sampiro]

I'm not asking for legal advice per se, and I'll make the disclaimer of

I WILL NOT VIEW ANY POST MADE TO THIS THREAD AS LEGAL ADVICE AND WILL NOT DO ANYTHING WITHOUT SEEKING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL HELP and add that I know that probate laws vary widely from state to state.

But I'm more interested in "is it worth my time to do this with lawyer's fees and the like being what they are" and "how complicated does this sound like it would be?".

The story in a nutshell: As most of you know every state has an Unclaimed Property division (find your's HERE (http://unclaimed.org/)) where things like bank accounts that were inactive for 12 years or security deposits that were returned to sender, etc., are held in trust for the people they were intended for but who could not be found. My paternal grandmother has two unclaimed properties, and I've been able to deduce that each is over $1,000. Whether that means they're $1001.09 each or $14,000 each they won't tell me, just that it's over $1,000.

My paternal grandmother died in 1989. My father was her only child and he predeceased her by 7 years. My father's will, which was probated, left everything to my mother (or to their children in the event of her death, but she's still alive).

My grandmother at one time had a fair amount of cash and property, but years of extended care and medication basically drained her estate to nothing. When she died her remaining cash paid for her funeral with maybe $200 left over. She had no will and her estate was never probated.

Here's another thing: my grandmother had a mentally incompetent sister, Lucy (the exhibitionist if you've read those threads) for whom she was guardian. Lucy outlived her by a few months. Lucy had no assets and lived in a state supported nursing home- there was no estate, no will, and thereagain, her will was never probated.

Now, one of the accounts on the Alabama Unclaimed Property registers is in my grandmother's name alone. The other one is jointly in her name and Lucy's. Lucy and Grandmother had two other siblings who begat children- I've no idea where these distant cousins are or even what their names are in some cases.

Here's the question (and it's not asking for legal advice or how to probate): I've never probated an estate. Does anybody know if it's possible to probate an estate for somebody who's been dead for almost 20 years? Is it generally expensive to do so? I have hear death certificate and documentation showing who I am, etc., but the state will not release the funds until the estate is probated.

Also, this may be closer to asking for legal advice, but I won't hold anybody responsible for any info- if Grandmother and Lucy owned that second bit of unclaimed property (a joint bank account) together, does anybody know if

1- Grandmother's heirs would have been entitled to half of it

or

2- Lucy (who outlived her) would have inherited all of it upon Grandmother's death

or

3- If it would be necessary to contact Grandmother and Lucy's nieces and nephews should I get this released?

But most importantly, does this matter sound like it would be worth the money? Assuming that the "over $1000" amount is for $1005, would the cost of probating this and speaking to an inheritance lawyer and the like be worth paying?

I realize this is an unusual thread, but thanks for any advice or info (and again, I'm not going to actually act on anything without an attorney's advice, I'm asking more about people who've had experience with probating wills of long dead intestate relatives or who may happen to have an opinion on the expense of such matters.)

[SnakesCatLady]

As to whether the nieces and nephews would be entitled to a share, that depends on the intestate succession laws of your state.

Many attorneys have a low cost or free "first visit" - to discuss the merits of the case and give an estimate of how much it would cost to pursue it. I would try to find someone who specializes in estates.

[Ceejaytee]

First IANAL in Alabama, but probate and estates is my specialty in NY.

You're not dealing with "probate"--probate involves a will, and your grandmother (and Lucy) died without one. Regarding unclaimed property, Code of Ala. § 35-12-84 provides:


Filing of a claim -- Intestate and small claims

(a) The surviving spouse, the child or children of an abandoned property owner who has died intestate may claim the abandoned property under this section, and will have a defeasible right to the property, if all of the following conditions exist:

(1) The aggregate value of the abandoned property held on behalf of the owner must not exceed the amount allowed in Section 43-2-692. [$3,000]

(2) The claim need not be accompanied by an order of a probate court if the claimant files documentation established in the rules, including but not limited to, a. a written confirmation by the probate court that no estate has been opened or filed; b. an affidavit, signed by all beneficiaries (defined as spouse and children) stating that all beneficiaries have amicably agreed among themselves upon a division of the property; c. supporting documentation showing heir rights; and d. authorization to release the name and address of the claimant to subsequent claimants.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to remove the jurisdiction of the probate court in matters of estates.

(c) A person may claim abandoned property in his or her name under this section and will have a defeasible right to the property, if all of the following conditions exist:

1. The aggregate amount value of the abandoned property held on behalf of the owner is equal to or less than two hundred dollars ($ 200).

2. The claim is accompanied by an affidavit swearing to the authenticity of a claim and lack of matching documentation, and authorization to release the name and address of the claimant to subsequent claimants.

(d) Any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer, or issuance is made under this section shall be answerable and accountable therefore to any heir of the decedent, to any person having a superior right to the decedent's property, or to the surviving spouse or minor children of the decedent who shall proceed against such person. This liability shall only be to the extent of the value of the property received by each person under this section.

(e) Any person who was lawfully entitled to share in the property but did not receive his or her share of the property, may enforce his or her rights in appropriate legal proceedings against those who received the property.

I don't know how this has been interpreted, but as there are no spouses or children left alive, grandchildren may perhaps petition. The law specifically mentions spouses and children and makes no mention of siblings, so you may not have to worry about the children of your grandmother's other siblings.

As to the joint bank account, it would depend on how it was held--a joint bank account with a right of survivorship would go to Lucy when your grandmother died. If there was no right of survivorship, your grandmother's moiety (her interest in the account) would go to her heirs. Since this statute doesn't make a reference to nieces and nephews, it might be that the money in this joint account (or half of it, if there was no right of survivorship) now escheats to the State.

You might want to call the office of the state administrator that handles Unclaimed Property and ask how one would go about petitioning for the funds. Since no probate is involved the cost may be minimal.