What can an heir do if they were not included in an estate?

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What can an heir do if they were not included in an estate?

My fraternal aunt died without a Will 6 years ago. She was 90 years of age, never married or had children. However, she was 1 of 6 children. At the time of her death, only 2 brothers (my uncles) were alive. My father, her brother, passed away 8 years ago. Her estate was valued at close to $700,000. Her estate was settled by a lawyer who also wrote my father’s Will. He knew of my sister and I but did not include is in my aunt’s probate settlement.

If I understand correctly, when a person dies without a will it is handled intestate. At the time it was settled, the lawyer only listed my two living uncles as heirs. Should he have included me and my sisters as heirs to my father’s part? None of the other dead sibling ever married or had children.

Now a holistic handwritten will has come into play. Do my sister and I have any recourse?

Asked on May 1, 2018 under Estate Planning, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

Intestate succession skips potential heirs who passed away before ("predeceased") the person from whom they might have inherited dies. If as you indicate, your father died before his sister (your aunt), he did not inherit from her; since he did not inherit from her, you, as his heirs, do not inherit from her either. Rather, her estate is shared among or between the then-living heirs.


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