Estate Settlement

Jurisdiction: 

Area of Law: 

Question: 

I received a letter in reference to an estate payment from my stepfather’s will. The estate attorney requested I sign the following: "The undersigned hereby acknowledges receipt of the following, in full and complete satisfaction of that portion of this estate to which the undersigned is entitled and that this receipt is also a RELEASE of the estate and all persons acting for or on behalf of the estate with respect to any and all claims or demands that the undersigned may have with respect to the estate or any of its assets." I didn't know I was mentioned in my stepfather's will NOR did the lawyer provide a copy of the will. Should he have included one OR should I ask for one OR is this standard protocol? My stepfather was very wealthy and the marriage blended two families much to the dislike of his children. Thank you.

Selected Answer: 

DakotaLegal's picture

There’s always a risk in

There’s always a risk in assuming, especially when it comes to settling an estate, and finding out what was the deceased person’s “intent.” So, I’m not even (at first) “assuming” that your relationship has been legally recognized. What that means is assuming whether there was a formal, legal, court-approved adoption. Many times, people have actually been “fostered” instead of being adopted. There are different rights between adopting and fostering: adoption means you have every right of a naturally born child.

Keep in mind, though, that even if you were ‘only’ fostered (and never legally adopted) that you may still have rights that are basically the same as being adopted. This can happen if there was a clear intent to adopt you, even if there were no legal process to adopt. There’s the case of Jeter V. Mcgraw, where the family tried to say there’d been no adoption: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1187148.html .

One way the rights of an intended adoption can be protected (if it applies in your case) is whether there were other foster kids or adopted children…were they treated the same way as you or not? You might look at some lawsuits that talked about what basic rights step-children or foster children have.

There’s the Estate of Ford v. III, No.S105508, http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-supreme-court/1258577.html . In that case, there was not enough evidence of an intent to adopt a step-child. In your case, you should be able to show under the specific terms of the will why and hat you were expected to receive.

There are also ways that you can ask for a review of the will, so as to prove any possibility that the intent of your step-father was interfered with. This can even happen in cases, for example, of a death-bed change in the will. There may also be a separate civil right for you to sue for interference with inheritance rights in Texas, and this is discussed in:
Brandes V. Rice Trust Inc., No.14-96-01186-CVH, decided on March 26, 1998. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1243434.html

As a result of possibly challenging the will, there may be special problems with how your relationship is, with other family members. There have bene cases where someone has just recently become a step-child, and the previous children fight recognizing legal rights only because of the fairly recent adoption.

Finally, you will want to understand what rights might be involved based on exactly “whom” the estate attorney is representing.

When you say you received a letter, it’s not known to me if this is part of a continuing pattern of letters. For example, what other communications have you received from the lawyer? Is this more in the way of a settlement of all possible claims you may have, or are you expecting other income or rights? Did you receive any payments from your step-father before his death, and were these in the way of a loan, or even an advance from any expected bequests? All of these issues can affect, usually by reducing, the amount of any inheritance you might be entitled to. In other words, taking these payments will affect any contrary claims or rights you might otherwise have.

This last area can be especially important to you, too. It sometimes happens that the children or step-children are specially protected under Texas estate laws, too. If you qualify for special help, you can contact Texas Legal Aid, too… http://www.lanwt.org/ .

All Comments

DakotaLegal's picture

There’s always a risk in

There’s always a risk in assuming, especially when it comes to settling an estate, and finding out what was the deceased person’s “intent.” So, I’m not even (at first) “assuming” that your relationship has been legally recognized. What that means is assuming whether there was a formal, legal, court-approved adoption. Many times, people have actually been “fostered” instead of being adopted. There are different rights between adopting and fostering: adoption means you have every right of a naturally born child.

Keep in mind, though, that even if you were ‘only’ fostered (and never legally adopted) that you may still have rights that are basically the same as being adopted. This can happen if there was a clear intent to adopt you, even if there were no legal process to adopt. There’s the case of Jeter V. Mcgraw, where the family tried to say there’d been no adoption: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1187148.html .

One way the rights of an intended adoption can be protected (if it applies in your case) is whether there were other foster kids or adopted children…were they treated the same way as you or not? You might look at some lawsuits that talked about what basic rights step-children or foster children have.

There’s the Estate of Ford v. III, No.S105508, http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-supreme-court/1258577.html . In that case, there was not enough evidence of an intent to adopt a step-child. In your case, you should be able to show under the specific terms of the will why and hat you were expected to receive.

There are also ways that you can ask for a review of the will, so as to prove any possibility that the intent of your step-father was interfered with. This can even happen in cases, for example, of a death-bed change in the will. There may also be a separate civil right for you to sue for interference with inheritance rights in Texas, and this is discussed in:
Brandes V. Rice Trust Inc., No.14-96-01186-CVH, decided on March 26, 1998. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1243434.html

As a result of possibly challenging the will, there may be special problems with how your relationship is, with other family members. There have bene cases where someone has just recently become a step-child, and the previous children fight recognizing legal rights only because of the fairly recent adoption.

Finally, you will want to understand what rights might be involved based on exactly “whom” the estate attorney is representing.

When you say you received a letter, it’s not known to me if this is part of a continuing pattern of letters. For example, what other communications have you received from the lawyer? Is this more in the way of a settlement of all possible claims you may have, or are you expecting other income or rights? Did you receive any payments from your step-father before his death, and were these in the way of a loan, or even an advance from any expected bequests? All of these issues can affect, usually by reducing, the amount of any inheritance you might be entitled to. In other words, taking these payments will affect any contrary claims or rights you might otherwise have.

This last area can be especially important to you, too. It sometimes happens that the children or step-children are specially protected under Texas estate laws, too. If you qualify for special help, you can contact Texas Legal Aid, too… http://www.lanwt.org/ .