2024-09-14 07:58:00 +0300

The Moneyist: My aunt has become forgetful: Her will leaves $1.2 million to three nuns and a friend who cares more...

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By Quentin Fottrell

Dear Quentin,

I have an aunt who is 88 years old and not in good health.

She has a house that is worth $1.2 million. I am her only relative. I usually see her once every two weeks I live about 25 miles away to take her food and help her with her house upkeep. Also, I am the only one that visited her when she was hospitalized.

She has a couple of friends who sometimes call her. However, one of her friends lives 40 miles away, and never sees her. As a matter of fact, that friend and my aunt had a disagreement and have not spoken to each other for months.

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My aunt wrote a will and set up a trust over 20 years ago. It states that upon her death the house will be given to this friend, and three nuns who run a retreat in California. Two of the nuns have since died, and the other does not know or recognize my aunt.

Also, her friend invited her parents and sons to see the house that she is going to inherit, and when my aunt heard about it she was furious. This so-called will was written over 20 years ago and no one, including my aunt, knows what was written.

My aunt has become forgetful, vague and indecisive. What recourse do I have, if any?

Frustrated Nephew

Dear Nephew,

Your question appears threefold: What happens to the share of your aunts house that is supposed to go to the two nuns who have already predeceased her? Is she able to write a new will, given her current mental state? And what does this all mean for your good self?

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