Sebring, FL Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Somebody should file the will to start a probate action and you can read it then. Your grandmother may have said that if a child predeceases her, then the that share goes to the remaining children. Or she may have said that the deceased child's share goes to that child's children. If no probate case has been started, you might want to consider starting one to force the remaining children to file the will.

There are other options to give her "a tie to the house," but none are better than putting her name on the deed. For example, you could give her a lien against the house, but that creates many more problems for you than it solves. I don't know your whole situation, but it seems to me that if she is contributing money or time or work to build the house, she ought to have some legal ownership too. If you are wary, you could make a contract with her that says what happens if you split up. The contract could say, for example, that the person who stays pays rent to the person who moves out, and that the person who stays has an option to buy the other person's share of the house.

Don't waste any more time and speak with an attorney. You can get your share as long as you act fast, before it is all spent. If you are worried you cannot afford an attorney remember that probate fees are paid from the estate not by you directly, and if you are entitled to an inheritance, many attorneys will work with you.