Expert: Timmy Chou - 3/8/2005

Question
How do i find out if my late aunt left me anything after her death. I was teh only relative here in USA. When she was alive she was very nice to me and helped me a lot. She passed away in 1999 but it occured to me now that maybe she had a will or something.
Thank you

Answer
Sorry for the dealy in responding -- I am traveling on business in central Asia.

Mediators use special techniques to help disputing parties work out their differences and do not "decide" the merits of any dispute.  I am not a lawyer but I can give you some ideas from my business consulting experience.

There is no requirement to "file" wills or trusts as far as I know.  There is is no independent way to confirm the existence of a will unless someone who is named in the will knows about it.  If a person dies "intestate" (without a will) their estate must usually go through a probate proceeding in the courts.  You can check with the probate court in the county where she died to see if there is a record of a proceeding, and if so, you can read it.  Absent a probate record, attorney or friend, you would have difficulty going further.

Good Luck!