Quick questions about (American) law...

Hey guys, I have some questions that hopefully aren't too annoying.

I'm writing a story where a thirteen year-old boy gets an inheritance from an elderly relative, who's passed away (not money, it's more like a magical doodad). My first question is, what happens when someone leaves something in their will to a minor? My understanding, gleaned half-assedly from movies and TV, is that the deceased person's lawyer has to get everyone together that's mentioned in the will, and read it aloud to them. Does that apply to a child as well? I assume they need to be accompanied by a parent, right?

Also, how long after the person's death does their lawyer get in touch with everyone? How long after they read the will does each inheritor (that's probably not even the right word...) get their stuff?

Thanks in advance, and excuse my ignorance. I've just gotten to the point where I can't really keep writing without addressing at least some of this stuff.

edited 22nd May '14 9:46:49 PM by ThriceCharming

There is, in America, no legal need for a reading of the will unless it is specified in the will itself. If the will specifies that a person must be physically present at the reading to inherit, then this restriction would usually stand up in court. (Exceptions would be those parties who cannot be disinherited by state law, usually the surviving spouse.)

Because minors cannot be held to many contracts, it is customary for large monetary inheritances to be placed in trust for them, with an adult (usually a parent or guardian) controlling the trust until the child is of age. Small bequests, or items not of great value, may be given to the child directly.

Due to travel restrictions, it's hard for a minor to get places some distance away alone. So if they're required to be physically present at the reading, it's likely they'll have an adult with them (again, usually a parent or guardian.)

When people actually get their inheritance will depend on many factors, such as the size of the estate, how many and what kind of creditors the estate has, how many places the estate is in, and whether any of the heirs are feuding with any of the others. A poor person's estate might be wrapped up in an afternoon, an international tycoon with a Big, Screwed-Up Family might have probate proceedings drag on for years.

If your magic doodad is small and looks like it's not made of ruby-studded gold, and most of the family is unaware of its magical properties, the kid might be handed the item right at the reading. (This allows the evil relative, who of course is also present, to know who has it and where it is.) Meanwhile, all the grownups are more concerned with how much moolah they're getting and probably bickering about who loved Great-Great Aunt Millicent most.

edited 24th May '14 11:58:27 AM by SKJAM

To expand on that: In most cases, there is no "reading of the will" the way it's done on TV and in the movies. It's almost never done, unless, as SK Jam said, there's a provision in the will itself that it must be done. In that case, the will would also specify who must be present (all heirs and/or legatees; all adult heirs and/or legatees; all members of the immediate family whether heir and/or legatee or not; only those heirs and/or legatees for whom the bequest is of greater than X value... pretty much any condition the person who wrote the will want to set.)

By the way, technically, an heir is a person who inherits whether there is a will or not, by virtue of their relationship to the deceased. A legatee is someone who inherits because of a provision in the will of the deceased. One person can be both heir and legatee. Your 13-year-old would most likely be only a legatee; the heirs would most likely be the old man's spouse, children, siblings, or grandchildren, but not his nieces or nephews unless all the closer relatives were also dead. Heirs generally also get a percentage of the estate, depending on the applicable state law on the division of the estate, rather than specific individual items.

Having said all that, if the will specified that there was to be a reading and that all legatees must be present, the child would have to be there. His parents would not necessarily have to accompany him, since he's not making any legal declarations or contracts, but most parents would want to be there or be represented, and few would let a 13-year old travel any great distance alone.

That last point opens up a possibility for some tension/conflict. If the will specifies that there is to be a reading, and that the boy must be present, and he lives a goodly ways away from where the reading is to be held, there's going to be travel expenses. The will may or may not specify that heir's and legatee's travel expenses to the reading are to be covered or reimbursed from the estate. If it doesn't, then the boy's parents will have to absorb the cost of getting him there. And they may decide that Great-uncle Joe's pocket watch (or whatever the doodad looks like) isn't worth the umpty-hundreds of dollars it would cost to go to the reading. If the boy isn't there, the legacy is voided, and the doodad would most likely be sold in the course of liquidating the assets of the estate, although it might simply be lumped in with the rest of Grand-uncle Joe's jewelry and go to whichever legatee got that. So that's another way to either let it fall into the hands of someone who isn't supposed to have it, or to start a Fetch Quest to recover it.

edited 24th May '14 12:51:49 PM by Madrugada

If you're skipping the reading of the will scene, since you don't legally need it, then the 13 year old will probably get the doodad by mail or package delivery service care of a parent or guardian (since someone will need to sign for it.) This could be anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year after the relative's death, depending on the probating of the estate.

In that case, evil relative might not know they're not getting the doodad until it doesn't arrive in their package.