Roberta, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

If you opened a bank account for the estate (as you should have), you obtained a tax ID number. If not, open one now.  The banker can get a tax ID number in two minutes on irs.gov.

This is Robby Hughes.  We are happy to assist you with your estate planning. We are in Lawrenceville so it might be a longer drive than you want. That said, I am happy to review your documents to see if you even need new estate planning documents.  Please contact my office Tuesday.  770-469-8887 Ask for Barbara Gordon. 

I'm sorry, but I can't tell from your post what your question is. I do want to point out a couple of things, however, in hope that the information helps you some. But if none of this answers your question, you will need to post another one with more information.   A "Living Will" does not transfer property. It's a document that says what kinds of medical treatments or other life-support measures one wants if one is incapacitated and either terminally ill or in a permanent coma or vegetative state.   I assume you mean that your mother had a Will (or a "Last Will and Testament". She may also have had a revocable trust, which is often called a "Living Trust." If your mother moved from Georgia to Florida, then ideally she would have updated her estate planning, including any Will, revocable trust, Power of Attorney, Advance Directive for Health Care, or Living Will documents. That's because what works in Georgia is not exactly the same as what works in Florida, and so if you change states, you ideally should eventually update your documents to reflect the laws in the new state and not your former state. However, your stepfather would not normally have any legal power to change your mother's Will- if you believe that he actually did forge a Will, or if he essentially forced her to change her Will (or other estate planning documents), then you may be able to challenge the document in question. Since she was in Florida, you will need to speak with a Florida attorney about what rights and options you might have.   As for the part about your grandmother's house: if your mother owned that house in her own name, and if it was not subject to any kind of legal restrictions imposed by your grandmother's estate planning documents or the deed, then most likely your mother (or someone acting on her behalf) had the legal right to sell it, even if you were expecting to receive it someday. If you believe that there WAS some kind of trust or deed-based restriction on the property, however, then you'll need to actually talk to an attorney about how the property was owned before the sale. The attorney can then investigate your claims and tell you if you have any rights and how to go about pursuing them if you do.   Best wishes to you.