Inheritance ... Long lost cousin

[CG]

So going on two years ago I get this weird notice In the mail. Please call for information regarding an inheritance you have coming. Um yeah, no I don't think so. But I was a little bit curious so I called my brother. He also got the notice. We also have a half brother and sister in Texas, they got the notice, and yes it is real. Hmmm, its getting interesting.

So I called. A woman passed I had never heard of, a cousin down how many levels Ive yet to figure out. Never married never had kids. Lived in San Francisco. And the only reason my siblings and I are on the list is because our mother passed and it goes to the next in line.

After more research and doubts in my mind we found out the people that contacted us are a company that finds out about these inheritances before notice gets around. They contact the people that will be on the list, have them sign some sort of contract, and that company gets a percentage of your inheritance for letting you in on it ... Way more to it, that's the short version.

They send me a lot of paper work with little arrow posts its ... Sign here and here and here. I didn't sign it. I was still suspicious. We also found out during this time a bunch of other family members have received these notices. Aunts, Uncles etc. Some signed up, some didn't.

A week or so later we get phone calls. Some lady I had never heard of, a relative down the line. She is the family representative of this woman's estate. Now its getting real interesting. She gives me a lot of background info. The lady who passed has a few properties in San Francisco and a bunch of other assets.

I called my brother, Hey this could really be something. He just laughed at me, Yeah its interesting, but my guess is we will have enough to buy a nice dinner somewhere. Geeze brother, what a Debbie downer.

Well now we start getting all the official paper work in the mail from the law firm. Too bad for the suckers that signed the paperwork from that firm that is basically taking a finders fee. Im on the list without having to pay that ... Im going to be getting some real dough.

We find out there are around 32 people in line, dang I think my brother is going to be right. Then we find out the estate is estimated at 1.8 million dollars ... divided by 32 that's still a very nice chunk of change. I called my brother, what do you think now sucker? He just laughed, its not done yet.

So its been a long time (still no resolution) and there have been ups and downs. Found more property she owns, yay! I wont go in to the details but a lot of money ( a real lot ) has to be spent in order to get these properties saleable and there were a lot of other problems that are costing money, not lawyer scamming us money, real stuff.

Last I heard it was down to 800K, and I also found out something I missed reading all the lawyer papers that keep rolling in. There are tiers of inheritance and my siblings and I are bottom feeders, I mean bottom tier level haha!

Im afraid my brother is going to be correct. Get the check in the mail, go to dinner. Thanks cousin I have never heard of for the nice dinner.

If it ever gets resolved Ill post the findings. Its been kind of a fun trip so far.

[flashed]

Im afraid my Brother N Laws will consider me a bottom feeder when my Mother N Law passes away and they try to keep my deceased wifes share of her inheritance especially since they got a big chunk when my Father N Law died and my wife got nothing . They may get a little surprise .I hope yours works out better than you expect .

[CG]

You were super close to yours, that's a huge bummer.

Mine is more like the open the safe thread, just kind of fun.

[Ol Blue K20]

You may get a surprise, San Francisco properties are worth a fortune in condemned condition. Dirt lots a commodity there.

[Warrens69GMC]

If they are in high demand areas, have them auctioned "as is"

[CG]

I have zero input on this, like stated, I'm a bottom feeder lol.

But one of my Uncles that is also in on this is pretty involved. He's long retired (at a very young age) and is having a little fun with it. He actually knew the woman that passed and had spent time with her when he was young. Incredibly smart fella, he wont let things get out of hand as far as fees and "extra spending" goes.

[Indian113]

I hope all goes well for you! No matter what you get it will be more than you had before. Interesting story keep us posted.

[special-K]

I hope the bottom is fluffier than you think. Good for you for not signing with that "service".

[pritch]

You know, I got a similar notice a while back. It set off all of my "scam alert" red flags, so I ignored it. I got a second notice a few weeks ago, so I sent them my phone number and told them to call me when my check was ready to be picked up. I haven't heard back from them yet...

Nobody in my family ever had a dime to scratch their a$$ with once it was all over.

[supercheyenne]

I like to alienate my family so they hate me. Don't have to worry about inheritances that way. LOL

Hope you get enough to buy something you can enjoy and keep us posted.

[68C15]

My mom already has her will made out and us 3 kids all have copies. No lawyers need get involved. She really has it cleared with them and everything is set up.

[flashed]

I have my will set up already too and my Nephew has a copy so all my stuff will go to him and his sister .I may change it to leave my rental house to my tennants .

[67ChevyRedneck]

Inheritance can be confusing. One of my wife's aunts passed and her mom was a beneficiary. They got a pretty nice chunk of change pretty quick, but there's still a decent of mount that's being held up (I think the estate part), don't quite understand it all, but it's been about a year now.

[CG]

Originally Posted by flashed

I may change it to leave my rental house to my tennants .

Keep that one a surprise. Probably not the best idea if they know the house is theirs free and clear if you pass

[flashed]

If I do that they wont know it . They are great tennants though .

[Boog]

Real property sometimes ends up in probate for a year or more in some cases. I guess it's sale is held up while the state tries to find a way to own it itself. 😡

[Coley]

Yep, I'm pretty sure every estate goes into Probate which not only resolves the estate value but creates everything needed to account for taxes, beneficiaries, searching all elements of the estate which might include investments, property, etc.
Often there will be a 'hold back' to deal with the tax element for the upcoming year.
It can get very complex if there are a lot of family involved....particularly older siblings, etc that may in the will...and may have passed away as well.
All of this is quite separate from the possibility that a beneficiary, particularly if its family...contests the will.

Coley

[In The Ten Ring]

On a similar note, since I don't have a wife or family yet, I've been wondering who I am going to leave my assets to. My sis is a drug addict and my bro is pretty well off but won't live much longer (cigarettes, don't smoke them unless you want to die young).

I have a god-daughter, at least unofficially. For a time I was going to will some guns to a friend but then he turned anti-gun on me, ya, that cost him. LOL (Naturally he wants semi autos banned but strangely, not the one I sold him). Wrote himself out of my will right there.

Wild story there man, glad you got a meal out of it.

[Hart_Rod]

Standby for the knives to come out when that kind of mine is involved. My parents didn't have to wooden nickels to rub together when they passed, so I never had to worry about stuff like that, but I've seen it ruin several good families. Greed is a bad thing... Hopefully it works out well for you.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Standby for the knives to come out when that kind of mine is involved. My parents didn't have to wooden nickels to rub together when they passed, so I never had to worry about stuff like that, but I've seen it ruin several good families. Greed is a bad thing... Hopefully it works out well for you.

Amen to that.

When my wife inherited a house the vultures came out of the woodwork.
Some that we never expected to. We lost some friends on that one.
It seems like when people smell money, they go crazy.

Best of luck to you.

[Coley]

never underestimate that old saying...."where there's a will, there's a way"....apparently.


Coley

[kwmech]

My mother passed a couple of years ago and left a fairly decent amount of money to my brother and I. She had it all set up years before with just a will putting me in charge of the estate. She had both our names on just about everything so when the time came it was a cake walk. We both had signature cards on file at the bank. We had zero problems, even with the house. NO probate needed. She told us years ago if it was going to be a problem between my brother and I (which it wouldn't be) she would haunt us until we died. She meant it too. Put the house up for sale............took 18 hours to sell.

[70' GMC]

Get a lawyer that you can trust

[Coley]

This inheritance/estate stuff has become quite the controversy in Canada over the last 5-10 years.
The primary reason for this, is the disastrous, weird rise in (speculative?) real estate value in Canada particularly in the bigger centres like Vancouver, Toronto...and nearby cities.
As a result...'Grandma's house' that used to be relatively insignificant is now a million dollar item..and sometimes more, so you can imagine the 'push' from the family to get in on that.
This becomes a lot worse if the siblings, etc don't particularly get along or if any of them had been estranged.
Things really de-rail if any of the siblings got cut off from mom/dad or the grandparents because, now as direct family members, they actually have legal recourse to get back in on the estate even tho' they may have been written out of the will....and this starts to set up the battle lines.
Tricky territory...and under those conditions a lawyer is unfortunately required. Most lawyers sign up for the estate probation etc based usually on a 5% fee of the estate....so on a million dollar estate (and many are)...thats a simple $50,000 bucks for the lawyer, right out of the gate.
....more to come on this.....just ask me why...lol

all good
Coley

[CG]

I have zero need for an attorney (thank goodness), I'm a bottom feeder on this deal. Ill be happy if any scraps come my way lol.