How can I find out if I'm legally entitled to inheritance that would have been my father's?
My father died 15 years ago and my grandmother died this year. How do i find out if i'm legally entitled to inheritance that would have been his?
Expert Answer
When your father died 15 years ago, he ceased to be your grandmother's beneficiary, so you have no legal claim to her property through him.
You must be alive to inherit property under a will, which can sometimes come as a shock to family members, who assumed that a relative’s property would come to them in time.
Your grandmother would be free, of course, to name you to get money or other property under her will. And if she died without leaving a will—and you are her closest living relative, the law in some states may entitle you to take all or a portion of her property. If this is a possibility for you, you can locate the particular laws that apply by searching the name of the state in which your grandmother lived when she died plus "intestate succession."