I am worried because now her house is empty. I have called local nursing homes no luck. I was estranged because of her daughter. She was jealous. She wanted to inherit the home my father and step mother owned so she kept everyone apart. I need to find her because she could lose everything if her bills aren't paid. How can I get into her house to possibly retrieve info on where she's at? An attorney maybe and ask them to do what. The mother and daughter lived together until about a month ago when she went into an SNF and the daughter passed. I don't even think she knows her daughter passed.
As for finding Step-Mom's current address you may try this..... I remember many years ago one could mail a letter to an address and write on the envelope "New Address Request" and circle it. The Post Office than would send back that envelope to your attention with the yellow label showing the new address.
You can also try Google your Step-Mom's name and see what shows up. There are a lot of websites that has everyone's name, address, telephone number, and who else lives at that location. It's not always correct, my names shows that I live with my ex-hubby and his wife... NOT.
The house, thats am exempt asset. If she is on Medicaid the house will need to be kept up by someone else because SMs SS and any pension is being used to offset the cost of her care. If no one is willing to keep it up, it needs to be sold for her care. If its kept till her death it becomes an asset that Medicaid can recover from. If no one is willing to pay the lien put on by Medicaid, the house will need to be sold and the lien satisfied. The beneficiaries will get the balance of the proceeds.
IMO unless you are in SMs Will I doubt if you would inherit anything. Your Dads Will, if he passed, would have had to leave his half to you maybe upon SMs death or if sold it for u to inherit. If SM left the house to the daughter, it may go to her children. Or nieces/nephews if no children. Blood relatives first, which you aren't.
I may see a lawyer before I go further.
if this is your goal, you need to get an atty who does guardianships who is based in the city / county where SM lives. Costs are on you, maybe 5-10K, and no guarantee that you would be appointed. It’s my experience that judges do not like appointing guardians who do not live in their jurisdiction; but might be ok with your atty being named guardian and then you move in, get SM back into her home, get all resettled, then ask for a hearing maybe 6 mos from now to have you named guardian. If your son, who lives there (right?) has a job, good credit score and can be viewed as a solid member of the community, he might could be named guardian if he can have the atty establish he had a relationship with his granny.
if SM is currently under an emergency ward of the state action, that was done by a judge in probate court and there will be paperwork on this that is public record. Your atty can easily find all this out as how most courts are set up is that atty’s have an account with the court with access via their bar card. It’s all online, easy peasy to get the docket, hearing info, do filings etc. If there’s medical records that’s not viewable, but everything else is there. Atty who do guardianships will know the guys who get the emergency ward of the State placements too. This sort of info not a DIY realistically.
On property details, that’s info imo you can DIY as tax assessor/ collector 4 most places have this online. Some places have it as land records so it’s in Chancery court. But it’s there as publicly available documents available free or smallish fee for a download. Personally I’d go online and pay to download all documents attached to the property back to the time your dad & SM bought it b4 ever meeting with an atty. Cause if home is actually in daughters name, then it’s her heirs as per her will or her lineal heirs if she died intestate to deal with.
In my not an attorney opinion, it’s only if house is in SM name that it might - might - matter for you later on as you could be lineal heir based on your dad if SM left everything to her daughter who is dead so when SM dies her estate has to cast for heirs. But unless SM has a huge amount of money so that interim guardian never ever has to look to Medicaid to pay for her care and has $ to pay all property costs for couple of years and that house is worth ton of $, would there be $. You’d need to be doing this & becoming her guardian, advocate and companion out of a sense of familial responsibility for your SM without necessarily benefiting financially.
Yes, speaking with her old neighbors & church is a great idea to find out where SM may be.
There is a program having to do with family's rights to find family, have a welfare check done.
I forgot what it is called.
They may be able to locate your step mother.
Have you tried a boots on the ground approach, ask a neighbor in person?
Or send your son to the house.
Or, ask the friend of your son who had the information and had asked the question to your son.
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