Certainly there are lawyers on FFXU. My rich uncle died about a month ago. How long does it take to settle an estate, are there time limitations? I'm wondering if I've got anything coming to me! Thanks in advance!

Depends on the status of the will and the size of the estate. You should get in touch with the executor to make sure he or she notifies you one way or the other.

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http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/13-11.htm

probably a stupid question but isn't the executor under obligation to contact heirs? It is a large estate btw.

niecey Wrote:
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> probably a stupid question but isn't the executor
> under obligation to contact heirs? It is a large
> estate btw.

Virginia and Fairfax have all sorts of sites available for estate stuff (like taxes, probate, etc). Very informational. I'm on the wrong computer to give you the links directly, but an easy gooogle or two should find you all the info you need.

Executors are required to notify heirs - executors are not required to notify anyone else. I recently (still, I guess) am the executor for my mother's "estate" and, as a courtesy, told her sister (with copy of appropriate pages of will) that she was NOT an heir. But I didn't have to.

Do those googles.

It takes as long as it takes. Not the answer you wanted to hear, but each estate can be different. I've had some that could have been closed in six months or less. I also had one that took four years to settle. How long it takes depends on the assets of the estate, the terms of the decedent's will and any litigation or claims that might be made against the estate. It can also vary depending on how formal the executor wants the estate administration to be. (The more formal the more protections that the executor will have.)

If you were an heir or a beneficiary under the decedent's will you SHOULD HAVE received notification when the executor qualified, as notice is required under (IIRC) Virginia Code section 64.1-122.2. Sometimes they say they have given notice when they have not. Wills and other probate records are PUBLIC RECORDS. You should be able to view a copy of the will and other probate filings at the Circuit Court Clerk's Office for the City or County where the deceased was living at the time of his or her death.

Note that many today use revocable living trusts to bypass the court supervised estate administration process. If this is the case with your uncle's estate, the trust agreement and other records probably will not be on file at any courthouse. You will need to obtain the information from the trustee who is administering the trust.

In my experience it is not unusual for a niece or nephew to be left out. N&N are only heirs if the person died with no spouse, no children and no parents surviving, and then the N&N are only heirs if the deceased's sibling (the N&N parent) predeceased the decedent. I know many of us would like to feel that Good Ole Uncle Jim was really fond of us, but in the pecking order quite often nieces and nephews are pretty far down the list.

If you are the beneficiary or heir and have not received any information from the estate, you do NEED to sit down with an attorney. It will likely cost you something for the initial meeting. (Attorneys don't make big $$ on these types of cases, so freebies are rare.) Be sure to bring a copy of the will or trust with you.

Bill N: thank you kindly for the info.

My Uncle died in VA... has no living parents. His spouse (from a family of considerable means) predeceased him. My cousin,his only child, is single, 40 years old and living in Uncle's paid for house.

My father (his brother) and my Aunt (in a nursing home about to go on state aid) are basically indigent and in very poor health so I'm hoping arrangements have been made for them. However, neither has been contacted at this point. I will check out the public records.

Thanks again.

Your cousin is the only heir unless there's a will that states otherwise.

LOL