Full question:
A few questions:1) My husband and I never got divorced, he moved in with a woman, my husband had a legal will awarding me all his assets upon his death. He has died, and the girlfriend refuses to release the property. The total property is valued at less than $50,000. How can I get my property?2) His girlfriend has refered to herself as his wife - what are the legal ramificaitions of this?They were together according to her from 1998 until 2010 when he died.3) My husband was dieing of prostate cancer, and his girlfriend isolated him on her ranch, emotionally abused, physically disregarded his well being, he was filthy, infected bedsores, malnourished and not getting access to his medical treatment or his medication. He called and talked to me but did not ever expose his living conditions because of his pride. When he finally was able to get a ride - his girlfriend gave his pickup to her daughter leaving him without transportation to his medical treatment and his health declined so much that he eventually couldn't drive himself to his radiation treatments. When his health became very poor the girlfriend had someone that works on her ranch take him to the hospital. There they had a social worker take over his care and admit him into in patient care, and later into hospice. This is when we all became aware of what his condition was. His girlfriend had keep him away from all of us until this time. If we would have had access to him his health would have never become so poor. My question is what are/is any and all of the legal actions I can take against this girlfriend? Thank you.
- Category: Wills and Estates
- Subcategory: Probate
- Date:
- State: Nevada
Answer:
The answer will depend on who was appointed executor in the will and whether the will has been probated. The executor is responsible for ensuring the deceased's wishes in the will are fulfilled. If the girlfriend is named as executor, you may file a claim for breach of fiduciary duty if the will has been probated. If someone else is the executor, you should receive notice of the probate and have a chance to object to any improper distribution.
There is no law against someone calling themselves a wife unless it involves misuse of your identity or fraud against creditors. Proving that your husband would have lived longer with your access is difficult due to the unpredictable nature of his illness. To establish wrongful death, it must be shown that without the girlfriend's actions, he would still be alive, which is hard to determine.
We cannot provide legal advice, but we recommend contacting a local attorney who can review all relevant facts and documents.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.