Do I have any rights to my step dad's estate if I have been taking care of him? 11 Answers as of January 10, 2012

You may be able to claim that you had an enforceable agreement with your step dad for a life estate in the property in exchange for your promise and performance of your promise to provide care for him. It will be difficult and you will need the services of an attorney to pursue the claim. An alternated claim would be that you should be reimbursed for your services to your step dad. Your success on this effort will be closely tied to the extent that you can provide proof of your services and his agreement to provide financial remuneration for your services. Did this information help answer your question(s)? Details and context often affect the validity and usefulness of an answer that is based on a general statement of the law. You may need to consult directly with an attorney and provide additional information in order to get the best answer.

Unfortunately, unless he wrote a will, you have no right to his estate. If he had wanted you to get something, he would have written you into a will. In not doing so, he made a clear statement that he did not appreciate your help enough to reward you, and what he said was simply meaningless. With no will, a stepchild has no rights at all.

If all of the promises made to you were verbal there may not be much that can be done about them. However, you should consult an attorney about the compensation that may be due you as caregiver.

It would be best if his desires had been put into writing. In any event, without a Will you do not have a claim to your step-dad's estate, as an heir. You may however be able to make a claim against the estate for the value of your services. This too can be difficult without a written agreement but it might still be worth your effort. The only entity with the right to make you move out is the estate itself. No one is authorized to act on behalf of the estate until a court appoints a Personal Representative.

See an attorney; from what you describe, if step-dad left no will you may have no rights. You may be able to establish an agreement for the care, but this needs the assistance of an attorney and you need to do it right away.

It sounds as if you are limited to filing a creditor's claim for the value of the services you provided. The estate can require that you leave. In most states the oral promise is not enforceable, unless you can show detrimental reliance or use other valid theory. I suggest you speak with an attorney about the specifics of the promises, etc. We offer a one hour consultation with an attorney who will provide you with important information regarding your specific case and will able to advise you on the options that you should consider in determining your next steps for the small investment of $100. This is a significant discount from our billing rates. If the issues presented involve reviewing documents and preparation in advance of the meeting, we charge $300 for a premier consultation, because there is over one hour of review and preparation for the meeting and one hour for the meeting.

If he adopted you, then you would have rights. If he left a valid will and left something to you in the will, then you would have rights. If your name is on the deed to the property, you would have rights. Otherwise, unfortunately, the probate law does not have a "do good" provision, to quote our former Probate Judge, now ALSupreme Court Justice making your receipt of compensation more difficult. If you had an agreement he would compensate you, and he did not, you may wish to consider filing a claim against the estate for that compensation.

You could have some rights as a creditor and also to enforce the contractual promise made. Unfortunately to enforce those rights, you will have to file a claim or a civil action against the estate. You will need to contact an attorney in your County to represent you in this matter.

Unfortunately, it appears from the facts stated that you are not an heir and the heirs could ask you to move.

Claims against an estate for family caregivers can be challenging to deal with, since there is rarely any sort of a formal agreement like you might find in any other creditor/debtor relationship. However, you may certainly have such a claim for reimbursement and you should seek the aid of a local probate attorney to assist you. With regard to the division of your step-father's estate, and whether or not you might be entitled to some part of it as an heir, the answer depends upon several facts that you don't really develop through your question. Again, a probate attorney can help you begin to sort through the issues and it sounds like there are many of them.