How Can I Find Out if I Was Left Something in a Will?

Full question:

how can I find out if I was left something in a will as promised by the deceased, with the relationship being as employee to deceased. The lady my wife was working for promised she would leave her something when she died. The lady died in January of 2010. Her son is the type of person who will do what he wants and not follow the letter of the law

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Probate
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: New Mexico

Answer:

It is possible for you to contact the court where the will is filed to obtain a copy of the will. When an estate is probated, the will that is filed becomes a public document. The executor will also file an accounting for the estate. You may call the clerk of courts at the relevant court to assist you in locating the filed copies.

If the executor fails to deliver the amount stated as the distribution in the probate filings, it is possible to sue the exevutor for breach of fiduciary duty. An executor has a fiduciary duty to carry out the wishes of the testator and not to misuse the assets of the estate. The elements of a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty are:

(1) Plaintiff and Defendant share a relationship whereby:

(a) Plaintiff reposes trust and confidence in Defendant, and

(b) Defendant undertakes such trust and assumes a duty to advise, counsel and/or
protect Plaintiff;

(2) Defendant breaches its duties to Plaintiff; and

(3) Plaintiff suffers damages.

The elements of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty are not fixed as the claim may arise from virtually any case where one party accepts the trust and assumes the duty to protect a weaker party.

Affirmative defenses to a claim for breach of fiduciary duty can include, but are not limited to:

(1) The passing of the statute of limitations for filing the claim.

(2) Lack of fiduciary relationship (for example, when the parties did not enter a fiduciary relationship, but rather conducted business in an arm’s length transaction there is no duty to protect the other party or disclose facts which the other party could have discovered by its own diligence.)

(3) Lack of standing

(4) Approval (for example, if the alleged actions followed full disclosure to and the consent of the Plaintiff)

(5) Business judgment rule (ex. that the corporate fiduciary's actions were motivated by a bona fide interest in the well being of the corporation where shareholders are the ones owed the fiduciary duty)