Ask Terry Questions Mom cuts me out of her will

Mom cuts me out of her will

By Terry Savage on August 17, 2015 | Wild Card

Good Day Ms. Savage, my ? is that my mother has a living will as far as I know. I was asked to sign some papers several years ago. I was just told it was a formality for ….. I agreed.
To my dismay it was for a will which I find it very fraulgulent. I have never been able to view these documents. The person that has the only privilege according to my mother is my adopted brother. We are not on any speaking terms because he is a narcissist.
What are my options in order to view the will?

Terry Says: First of all, a “living will” is the document that gives end-of-life instructions about taking extraordinary measures to prolong life.  So I don’t think that is what you are talking about.  You might be talking about a “revocable living trust’  — which is a sort of “will” but a much more efficient instrument.

You have every right to see the document that you signed.  But I can’t imagine why you would have been asked to sign anything, because that would not be necessary for your mother to create an estate plan.   Perhaps you were asked to sign a paper “waiving” your rights to an inheritance?  You should contact the attorney who asked you to sign, tell him/her that you are creating your own estate plan, and want to see those documents.  You might need to hire your own attorney to press your case.

But the bottom line on all of this is not about these documents.  It appears that your mother has made up her mind about whom she trusts — rightly or wrongly.  And unless you are willing to go to court to declare her incompetent (very tough to prove, and expensive) and that your adopted brother is inappropriately influencing her (even tougher to prove), then you might very well be cut out of her eventual estate.   That’s tough, I’m sure, not only on a financial basis, but on a personal, emotional basis — especially when your adopted brother seems to benefit. (By the way: was he legally adopted?  If not, you might have some rights to her estate when she passes.)

Unless there is a LOT of money involved here, my suggestion is that you try to make peace with both of them – not for the money, but for your own peace of mind.  That, of course, is not financial advice!

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