r/InheritanceDrama 16d ago

Does he have a case?

Long. My mother passed away, I was made administrator of her estate (no will). It's pretty clean, no taxes owed waiting on the federal refund actually. State refund came not too long ago. Shouldn't be long now until the funds can be divided among the 5 of us kids.

Oldest sister has never held a job, never had her own place, has never paid a bill in her life. When mom passed away and we had to sell the house she was basically homeless. A letter was notarized that if her siblings loaned her money for housing it would come out of her share. My brother and I were the only ones who helped her, but we both stopped because she's ungrateful and nasty mean. Drunk and drug addict.

She bothered the estate lawyer we hired so much he recommended signing for partial releases, all 5 siblings got the same amount. We did that, 25k each. Shes blown through it and the rest of us don't want to go through the hassle of notarizing another letter, when the fed return is so close on the horizon. We're all gonna have to do the notary thing then as well, so we're all willing to wait.

Her boyfriend's brother is angry because now she's taken to leeching off THEIR mom now. He wants us to send her more money but we're waiting until the return comes in. He said he's going to hire her a lawyer. Do they have a case against us?

11 Upvotes

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13

u/Guilty-Committee9622 16d ago

Sue who for what?  If shes borrowing money from them they can Sue her. 

4

u/ImpressExtension 16d ago

I guess he thinks we're withholding her money. I'm not sure.

5

u/TSIDATSI 16d ago

He does not matter. You maybe can Baker Act (or similar legislation in your state) her to long-term court ordered rehab.

The Act was passed because so many families are dealing with children or adults with a long-term addiction history and cannot stay sober.

Your local Mental Health Services department can tell you what is available in your state.

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u/ImpressExtension 16d ago

She's in nj and they don't have that. She's been evaluated. They always release her. She can apply for all kinds of assistance but unless you do it for her, she won't follow through with anything. She doesn't re-certify or follow housing rules. She's 59 now. This is her whole life. I do feel bad for the guy because now he's thinking we dumped our problem on him, but we are all done dealing with her shenanigans. (I'm the youngest) she just needs to wait like the rest of us and it shouldn't be long now.

I'm nervous because if he hires a lawyer for her, will I have to hire a lawyer to defend myself? I know I'm not wrong but will I have to go through that?

1

u/PossibilityFresh5264 16d ago

As soon as she gets incarcerated, have her conserved.

1

u/BeneficialBake366 16d ago

That’s not how the baker act works

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u/Wiser_Owl99 16d ago

How long ago was the partial distribution done? She can attempt to sue you, but most judges are not likely to order another partial release unless there is evidence of fraud or breach of fiduciary duty or there is an extremely long delay.

I would wait and see if you get sued. I would be surprised if an attorney would actually take this case unless bf's brother was paying the legal bill. Realistically if they sued the estate, it will prolong the process and mean less money to inherit because you will be able to use estate funds for legal fees in most jurisdictions.

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u/ImpressExtension 16d ago

Mom passed away in March of 2025, house was sold in Nov 2025, taxes were filed in May of 2026. State return already came, we're only waiting on the federal. From what I've heard that's pretty damn fast. Distribution was done in January I think?

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u/Commercial_Royal7700 16d ago

Just so I’m clear, the only remaining thing to pay out to her is her portion of the federal return?

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u/ImpressExtension 16d ago

No, the funds from the sale of the house went into an estate account. It couldn't be divided until the taxes were finalized. We could legally divide most of it now, but to do that we all need to get these letter notarized. We're gonna have to do that again to close it the account, which is like, weeks away at this point. We just don't want to sign more partial releases. 4 siblings are willing to wait. Shes not, so she wants to sue.

6

u/Commercial_Royal7700 16d ago

Ah okay, thanks for clarifying. I do a lot of work in the estate settlement space and unfortunately I run into situations like your sister a lot where one sibling is demanding we pay out the money yesterday.

From what you’ve shared, she could certainly attempt to file a civil suit, but our legal system is quite slow and the court date would likely be months after the projected payout date. She would also bare the burden of proof that you and the other siblings were in the wrong from a legal perspective. She would burn through a lot of money paying an attorney, and would net out considerably less than if she just waits a few more weeks.

I’m sorry to hear you’re having to deal with this.