How do you know if you were left anything in a will?
When a person dies, leaving behind a will, the executor named in it is responsible for notifying all the beneficiaries mentioned in the will and for distributing the property to them as directed. The executor can be anyone the person decided to name, not necessarily a spouse.
It takes a bit of time to finalize this property distribution—a procedure known as probate—an average of about 18 months after a person dies, so beneficiaries must often be a bit patient.
If you remain curious and uncertain about what the will specified, you should know that wills become public documents. You can request to see a copy at the probate court in which it was filed—usually the one closest to where the deceased person lived. Simply supply the deceased person’s name and approximate date of death.
How would we go about finding out if we were left something by a parent that passed away. I have a stepmother that won't tell us anything. What steps do we go about to find out?
