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Will: Receipt for Specific Bequest, but no check

DelzhandDelzhand motivatedbattle programmerRegistered User regular
in Help / Advice Forum
I've received a letter from my stepmother that is enclosed with a Receipt for Specific Bequest. The letter is pretty nasty stuff - "she didn't want you in the will but didn't get to change it", etc. There's no check in the letter. The legal form she wants me to sign and return says "I, <delzhand>, acknowledge receipt of the sum of xxx".

Now, it seems to me that signing this is a pretty bad idea. But I wanted to make some sort of cursory confirmation that it's not normal practice to request a receipt first. I mean, it flies in the face of all legal logic, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

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Posts

  • ceresceres not beautiful like you Pennsylvania, USASuper Moderator, Moderator mod
    If your only option is to sign that you received a sum, and you did not receive the sum, do not sign. Talk to a lawyer immediately.

    The avalanche has already started; it is too late for the pebbles to vote.
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  • JebusUDJebusUD Registered User regular
    I wouldn't sign anything. Clearly it is asking you to lie on a legal document, which I am sure constitutes perjury, but also will likely lead to you getting screwed out of whatever your inheritance is.

    Mim, on JebusUD wrote:
    You haven't given me a reason to steer clear of you!
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  • LaemkralLaemkral Captain Punch King Registered User
    If you sign that receipt, you'll never see a penny. That's what it is, a receipt, the legal "proof" that you got the money you were supposed to receive.

    Sounds like your step-mom is a mean spirited person, and whoever it was that bequeathed the sum she's holding back from you...if they really didn't want you in the will then they would have changed the will.

    Don't sign it, talk to a lawyer, and be prepared for a fight.

    Avatar courtesy of MKR, and the strip I appeared in.
    • Agree Awesome
  • DeebaserDeebaser Way out in the water See it swimmin'?Registered User regular
    Save everything: envelope, letter, and "receipt". Talk to an attorney. If this isn't a large sum of money, you should be able to do this pro se, but IANAL and IANATFWEL*. I found this on the interbutts though.

    http://www.ehow.com/about_6133304_happens-executor-steals-money_.html


    *I am not all that familiar with estate law.

    #FreeThan
    #FreeScheck
    #FreeSKFM
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  • DeebaserDeebaser Way out in the water See it swimmin'?Registered User regular
    Her writing that letter was probably a hilarious miscalculation if you challenge this.

    #FreeThan
    #FreeScheck
    #FreeSKFM
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  • kaliyamakaliyama Registered User regular
    i'm not sure of the sums at issue, but if you're going forward on this, make sure that you are rational about cost-benefit analysis. There are always horror stories where people out of stubbornness - especially in family feuds like this, litigate an issue out of scope of the sum involved. Make sure you if you retain a lawyer that you arrange a fee structure that means your recovery isn't eaten up by legal fees.

    kaliyama on
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    BattleTech campaign at: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/169696/battletechmegamek-fight-for-gan-singh#latest
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  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic I've Done Worse Registered User regular
    I'd give some thought to contacting your siblings and other family members unless you have some reason to suspect she is only trying this with you.

    "When you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. When you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole."

    Borderlands 2 PA Xbox Metatag - Bazillion Guns
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  • MrMonroeMrMonroe Registered User regular
    kaliyama wrote:
    i'm not sure of the sums at issue, but if you're going forward on this, make sure that you are rational about cost-benefit analysis. There are always horror stories where people out of stubbornness - especially in family feuds like this, litigate an issue out of scope of the sum involved. Make sure you if you retain a lawyer that you arrange a fee structure that means your recovery isn't eaten up by legal fees.

    I cannot give formal legal advice, but:

    This. You don't want to dredge up a huge fight in the family over something measly, but at the same time, this person is clearly trying to screw you over.

    Do not, under any circumstances, sign anything until you've appraised an attorney of the situation and shown her the entire contents of this letter. She'll be able to help you decide on the best course of action from there.

    MrMonroe on
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    STEAM ID
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  • JasconiusJasconius bird internet Saint Petersburg RussiaRegistered User regular
    do. not. sign.

    • Agree Awesome
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