i'm also going to need to look into my father's will, or lack thereof.

i was supposed to get a $500/month check for the foreseeable future, which would give me $6000/year in gifts, which is the maximum amount under the law to maintain benefits. that was the plan, here. we set up an agreement days before he died....and then she just didn't follow through with it.

iirc, she said it wasn't binding because he was half-retarded. the second part was true (after three invasive brain surgeries), but the first part wasn't, as what was set up was a fiduciary duty - it was her agreement that was important, not his.

i probably should have asked for a copy; it didn't cross my mind that she'd bail. i was planning a move, dealing with my father's death...it was just something that didn't cross my mind. but, in hindsight, it should have crossed my mind....

i haven't pursued anything because i don't expect that the dollar figures are worth pursuing. i was told for years that everything would be left in her name, with the assumption that she would fairly distribute it - up to her discretion. and, the same thing was true the other way, although she doesn't have any children. but, how much money is available here, given that she could have another 20-30 years ahead of her?

the number $50,000 has been thrown around a little, and the fact is that that's not a lot of cash.

if i had 50 years left in 2013, i'd have needed to be looking at dollar figures around $1000000 to make any kind of action worthwhile, and that didn't strike me as likely at all. $50,000 is only going to buy me 4 or 5 years. i'd be better off staying on odsp, and biding my time to make a legal case when i'm 55.

but, the situation has now changed - it now makes sense to figure out what i should have got, and sue for it. and, given that i'm not aware of any probate process, and was not informed if one did exist, i may have an argument to reopen it - or at least to sue for unjust enrichment.

i'll repeat: my understanding is that the entire estate went to my step-mother. a $500/month check for an unlimited period is basically exactly what i wanted, and i wouldn't have had much use for a lump sum much less than $1000000, which is probably completely unrealistic. so, it seemed like a waste of time.

but, i don't know, really - i need to see what the will actually says, and what my options are around it.