My grandmother on my mother’s side died in Greenville, Ohio, in 2011. She was married three times. Husband #2 and #3 died when she was married to them.
I had always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that she was very well-off financially. If so, I am now curious where the money went. She had three daughters (my mother was one of them), all of whom were alive when she died; they are now all deceased. But I don’t think my mother received anything, strangely.
I sent an email to the Darke County Probate Court, but they couldn’t find any records. Just looking for suggestions on what to do next.
I have looked up wills and you contacted the right place. Perhaps she had no will but there should still be a probate record. You do need to contact the county in which she died, not lived but you did that.
Do you really need the actual will, assuming there was one? I think in most states, probate records are public information, and they should include the will provisions, or specify that the decedent was intestate
Do you have any reason to think there even was a will? Lots of people don’t have one because not everybody needs one. In my state, if I’m widowed and I want my children to inherit equal shares, I cant use a transfer on death deed to transfer my house without going through probate. Or I can give away my money and property early and not even have an estate. I could transfer my house to my kids today and retain a life estate so I can live here until I die. Joint bank accounts with rights of survivorship also don’t go through probate.
Did she own a house when she died? You might be able to find out details about the transfer: either contact the appropriate county offices or do online searches:
She died, and I think she had a lot of money. I don’t care about it. I don’t need it. But I wonder where it went, and I wonder if it could have gone to her grandchildren.
If the estate is primarily liquid assets, or assets that the testator directs are to be liquidated, then the will might not mention the amounts.
EG If it’s along the lines of “I leave everything to Clara” or divides the estate up by fractions to different people, then there’s likely no indication of the value.
Now, if it’s “I direct that my five rental units in building XYZ are to go to Clara”, you’d have a better chance at eyeballing the value of the estate.
I looked at the obit - and the place she lived is not currently the sort of retirement home where you buy a unit and pay the equivalent of a HOA fee monthly. It probably wasn’t ever that sort of place - currently they have everything from independent living to skilled nursing and memory care.Those places generally have high monthly fees depending on the level of care - at today’s rates, it could be $10K a month or more for skilled nursing. Independent living runs about $3-$4K a month. Which is kind of a long way around to saying even if she was well off, if she was there for any length of time she may have exhausted her money, or nearly so.
There are many ways to avoid going through the probate process, even when there are a lot of assets involved. Many people have their financial accounts set up so as to bypass the probate process (and estate taxes) so they go directly to the person(s) named as beneficiaries before death. Brokerage accounts are often TOD (transfer-on-death [to beneficiaries named before death]), bank accounts can be POD (payable-on-death), and retirement accounts likewise go directly to beneficiaries, provided that beneficiaries were named before death. Such accounts would likely not be mentioned in a will or in probate records. Before death, other assets like cars and houses can be put in JTWROS (joint tenancy with right of survivalship) so that the living co-owner automatically receives the dead co-owner’s share in the property without going through probate. If all other assets combined are low enough (under $35,000 in Ohio, according to what I see online) then probate can be avoided entirely.
If she died in 2011, it is likely too late to file a claim against any estate. It is unfortunate if your mom failed to take steps to protect her - and her children’s - rights, but that ship has undoubtedly sailed.
People “steal” from estates all the time, and it can often be fruitless to challenge such efforts.
Hope this doesn’t violate FQ, but I ask what you really expect to result from satisfying your curiosity. I suggest that a likely outcome will be that you end up thinking ill of someone - whether that comeone is dead or alive. If you don’t need or care about it, I suggest you tamp down your wonder. Yes, it could have gone to her grandchildren if she had wanted it to and taken steps for that to happen.
Hey @Crafter_Man I am from Greenville an actually grew up two blocks from the Brethren’s Home. I did a little Been Verified searching and found some details that may help piece together a story.
Her husband died in 1998, so she was widowed for 13 years before she died. She worked at the Second National Bank; I banked there in the 80’s and 90’s so it is quite possible I met her. I also see that in the 2000’s she was living in a senior apartment complex on Dwyer Avenue, the very same one that my mother was living in up until last year.
The records seem to indicate that she lived in Dayton Ohio sometime in the 2000’s as well on Erica court in a nice single-family home in Beavercreek/Kettering, does that sound familiar? I also am seeing a Ft. Myers Florida address in her past as well. Mind you, Been Verified often gets details like this incorrect, but it could indicate possible property ownership in the past.
So now my local boy evaluation of all this information. The Brethren’s Home is the best and most expensive nursing home in Darke County. My mom stayed there for a month and it was most impressive in the quality of care and cleanliness. It is over $10k per month to stay there, my mom chose a less expensive one in town. Staying there until 92 most likely would have depleted any funds that she had as it is common for these places to take total control of your assets when enter. Most likely this is where the money went.
It seems to me that she lived an above average lifestyle in Greenville but not lavish. She and her husband worked and could afford to go to Florida. it also seems that after her husband died, she went into the senior living apartments on Dwyer while she waited to buy a home in Dayton but later ended up in the nursing home back in Greenville. Sounds to me that she led a good life and spent her money on her on care up until the end. If any funds were left over, they would have been liquid funds that were transferable upon her death I suppose.
Thanks for the research! You (and @doreen) might be right, in that she depleted her assets at that place. And yes, she lived in Ft. Myers most of her life. (She grew up Greenville, and I think moved to Ft. Myers in the early 1960s. And then moved back to Greenville in the late 1990s?)
My intention is not to make a claim, or anything like that. I am just curious.