My aunts boyfriend has my family antiques not supposed to have them after two years he still has them they are very old. What to do?
Here the thing my aunt died in 2021 right ok it was a total mess her boyfriend and my cousins were fighting about the house antiques furniture clothing jewelry they were very greedy right so he bought a house cause my cousins forced him to move we were cleaning it out we saw the antiques they were supposed be ours to split that what it said in her will. He’s still has them and plus a very old cabinet we don’t know why he still has these things we might have to
take him to court they were my grandmas not his he has no legal right to them I guess when they moved him into his new house they took the antiques by accident it’s a mess the whole situation we just want our antiques back this just came up this weekend we were supposed to pick what we wanted from the stash he even has very old pictures to
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Well, not only has that ship sailed, it's crossed unknown oceans, found a new world, started a colony, and that colony is currently fighting for its independence.
Let it go.
If the will stated “Prudent Mallard 4 p bedroom set & armoire” was to go to Cousin Vinnie, then it was Executors job to find a value on this specific and special asset & enter it as such for the required probate inventory filing & then make the removal and delivery to Vinnie happen. (Fwiw Mallard furniture is tres collectible, $ 50K++ range if in good condition)). Did that happen on the pieces??? If not, then probably were they considered household furnishings at a tag sale price for the inventory. Sometimes old furniture is just old furniture if no provenance.
So heirs made the old boyfriend move out of the home he shared with your Aunt. Executor or their representative should have been there to do oversight that all was done for household contents as per will. If they didn’t and stuff moved that should have remained OR probate closed and it shouldn’t have, it’s on the Executor. If you were a heir, you got a Notice of your “standing” (as per the will) in this drama. Do you have “standing”??? And it’s on you as an individual with standing to have asked of the Executor about items you thought due to you did in fact exist & do this in a timely manner. If you have standing, you can file a contest to distribution before probate closes. If you & others with standing accepted other items as per the will, basically means you have been ok with what Executor did.
In hindsight y’all shouldn’t have been so quick to 86 Aunties old boyfriend. Instead of sharing loss & bereavement with him, you & your family created an enemy. You want to be upset with someone, be upset with the Executor. So who was the Executor in this dramarama??
As I said before, there was a Will then there is an Executor that should have requested the belongings back. If BF would not comply, then a lawyer, then the court, maybe small claims. But this has been allowed to go on for 2 yrs.
I agree with Alva. She needs to let it go and move on even though it’s painful for her.
My mother lost her home all of its contents in hurricane Katrina. It’s devastating but in the end it’s all just things. That’s it!
The fact that my mom’s life was spared by evacuating with us was the most important thing.
We can’t allow material possessions to be the most important part of our lives.
Seriously, though, you can kiss all that stuff goodbye. Aunt’s boyfriend has it, and no reputable lawyer is going to bother with this. As others have noted, you should move on. Purchase a similar cabinet; you will spend far less on an 1815 piece than you would have on a lawyer, even if you could find one to take this on.
As for sentimental value, is it worth the anguish of getting involved with the court system? You might not get them even then. Lawyers in my area cost $500 an hour when they have to litigate. That’s a lot of money for a china cabinet, handwritten letters and other old stuff that you’d then have to move, find a place to put, and do what with?
If there was a Will, the Executor had the right to ask that those antiques be returned. If not, then a lawyer requesting them. If no return then a court order. Is Probate closed? If so may not be much you can do. If not, then its the Executor's and the lawyers responsibility to get them back.
It was the Executors responsibility to inventory Aunts belongings. Executors responsibility to be there when BF moved out to insure he only took his belongings. Make sure BF took everything at once and then put new locks on the doors.
I guess the BF didn't have an agreement with Aunt that he could remain in the home until he left for some reason or he passed.
Your aunt died 2 years ago. That's a long time ago. He probably sold them off already, used the money. And even if he still has the antiques, I doubt you'll find a lawyer who'll help you. This all happened 2 years ago. The will has already been executed. I doubt you'll get the old pictures back. If you're on bad terms with your aunt's boyfriend, I doubt he'll cooperate with anything. He'll just ignore you. And a lawyer won't help you, I think.
He might even be the one who feels very wronged, being quickly kicked out of the house.
It is unclear whether or not you took him to court already, but if you did, I doubt you would win without excellent documentation in the form of wills and letters and without proof and pictures.
Let it go.