Can I Sue Someone for Not Taking Better Care of Someone Who Later Died?

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: 04/07/2025
• State: Nevada

Answer:

The answer will depend on who was appointed executor in the will and whether the will has been probated. It is the executor’s responsibility to make sure the deceased’s wishes in the will are carried out. If the girlfriend was named as executor, it is possible you can file a claim for breach of fiduciary duty if the will has already been probated. If someone else has been named, you should receive notice of probate of the will and opportunity to object to the distribution if improperly made.

There is no law prohibiting someone from referring to themself as someone’s wife unless more is involved, such as they are misusing your identity or defrauding creditors. It will be difficult to prove that had you had access, he would have lived longer, due to the unpredictable nature of the disease, even with proper care. To prove wrongful death, it needs to be proven that but for the acts of the defendant, the deceased would be alive, and there is no telling how much longer the survival would have been. We are prohibited from giving legal advice, as this service provides information of a general legal nature. We suggest you contact a local attorney who can review all the facts and documents involved.