Legal question

[Narkos]

Have a buddy whose dad died a year ago. Apparently the new wife ( married only a few years ago) has been somewhat of a hard ass w the money. My buddy's mom (ex wife of the deceased) is now suing the estate for back spousal support which she is apparently entitled. It's not much (20 k) and the widow came back w a counteroffer of 12k with the stipulation that all the kids sign away the rights to the house which is now occupied by the widow ( in the will it states that the house will go to kids when the widow dies). My buddy is pissed because in addition to that this gal wants the family to pay half the mortgage and some taxes on a 401k. The plot thickens...the dad had a safe deposit box full of gold....it might be worth a lot, but it also might be empty. Apparently he can legally access the box. He wants to get someone to drill into the box, take whatever is in there and give it to his mom. Unsure of the legality of this, since he said probate hasn't gone through yet. Partly he is doing this to get back at the widow( who he previously had a good relationship with) partly to take care of his mom. He wants my opinion. Not a lawyer but I guess the principle should be to take of his mom. Thinking this might be a bad idea. Any ideas?

[LiberalEsto]

1. I suggest that he call the county Bar Association

and ask them for a referral for a consultation with a lawyer. These are usually about 45 minutes and cost somewhere around $50, depending on the area. If he's broke, he can ask the bar association if he can get a no-cost consultation, but ask that right away when talking with whoever answers the phone.

A lot of the answers to his questions will depend on that state's particular laws concerning inheritance. For example in NJ one can write to the clerk of the probate court, state the reasons for concern and request a hold on probating the will. This was recently done by a relative of mine.

[Narkos]

2. Will do. Afraid he doesn't know what he's getting into nt