Dear Judy,
I don’t want to sound greedy, but our grandmother promised me her condo in Phoenix, because she knew it was just what I needed (I have asthma pretty bad).
I am 40 years old, my mother is dead, and I never married. I have a very low income.
Our grandmother died 4 weeks ago (at 81). In her will, she left the condo and almost everything else, furniture, stocks, bonds, and cash included, to her only surviving daughter and that daughter’s son. My cousin has a great job, a working wife and lives the high life.
Is there anything I can do? My grandmother broke her promise. I have no idea why, but it makes me furious. Should I contact my cousin, who I don’t much like, and tell him the condo at least should be mine because our grandmother promised it to me?
Claudia
Dear Claudia,
I can’t count the number of emails I get on the subject of ruined hopes and false promises, and my answer is always the same:
Did the deceased ever put her promise of a bequest in writing? Specifically, did she put it in her Will? Is there, perhaps, a later Will in which that promised bequest to you was included? Do you have any proof that undue influence was used by your cousin — or anyone — to change your grandmother’s mind? Was your grandmother demented by the time she wrote that Will?
And above all, can you afford a lawyer to battle your estranged cousin?
If the answer, to some or, preferably, all these questions is Yes, then maybe you have a stab at getting that Phoenix condo.
If you cannot prove that your grandmother singled you out as her heir, then forget about the condo. Oral promises are usually worthless in court.
Thank you for writing
Judy
