Jerry Taylor explains Sarah's options after her stepmother claimed all assets from her late father's estate. If Sarah was left out of the will, she may qualify as a pretermitted heir and claim a portion in many states. Taylor recommends consulting an estate attorney and gathering evidence to challenge the probate administration.
Sometimes people in your family take what should rightfully be yours. Here's a case in point. Sarah says, after my dad died, my stepmother who hates me took everything. She refuses to give me a penny. My dad had a will but never got around to adding me to it. So I haven't gotten anything. I don't know what to do. First off, I'm very sorry to hear about this, but it happens way more often than you might think. Now, this situation brings up a couple of issues, but there may be something Sarah can do about this to depending on the facts. First, because Dad left a will, if there was anything left in his name alone, that will is going to have to go through the probate process. That's why more often than not, I suggest doing a revocable trust in your lifetime because it will avoid the whole probate process. Now, whether or not Sarah can do something about this depends on whether she can prove that she was a pretermited heir. Most states have laws that say that if a parent unintentionally leaves a child out of a will, then that child is considered to be a predetermined heir, and the child can
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