Our mother passed away in 2010. She had a serious stroke in 2003. Two and one half months later, one sister took my mother to a lawyer and had her HCP and will changed. That sister was named as executrix and was the only benefactor in the will, excluding my other sister and me in the will. The "bad" sister drove my mother to the lawyer and wrote the check for the lawyer's payment. We also found a bizarre document that my sister wrote listing what my sister wanted itemized in my mother's will! She had the means (moved in with my mother) to exert the undue influence.
My question is that the estate was very small (under ($1000). My sister spent down my mother's money. Previously an annuity was purchased naming that sister as the sole beneficiary, qualified my mother for MassHealth, and then my mother was placed in a nursing home against her will.
A voluntary Executor/Executrix form was filed in MA, and no petition for probate was filed.
The only items left were family paintings, furniture, photos, documents and all other kinds of household belongings. Some of these items are important to the family.
How does one contest a will, where no notice of a will was sent to the family, and no probate-able assets exist? Obviously, there is not enough value (anymore) to engage a lawyer. But can I simply file an affidavit to get her before a judge, where the burden of proof regarding the undue influence is on her, hoping to recover some of my mother's personal property?
Undue influence
As you may know, Massachusetts law requires a person in possession of a will to file it with the probate court or deliver it to the named executor, who must then file it with the probate court. You can compel your sister to do so. You can follow this link for some information about contesting a will for undue influence. However, as discussed in that post, this is not the kind of thing a typical lay person can handle on her own. If we are talking about a lot of money, you can hire an attorney to look into undue influence not just with respect to the will but with respect to the documents related to the annuity you mention in your question. Or, you could ask an attorney to write a letter stating your concerns regarding your mother's estate and asking the sister, in settlement of all claims you may have, to give you some of the personal items you would like to have. This is all guess work on my part, because I am not familiar with the documents in question and the circumstances under which they were executed. Talk to a lawyer.