Uncle Wrote Himself A Huge Death Bed Gift Check From My Grandfather’s Estate The Day He Died To Maximize His Inheritance.

Last year my grandfather died at the age of 98, he was incredibly sharp until that last few years and quickly declined mentally. He was an accountant with a comfortable retirement and pension. He was smart with money and always maintained a respectable savings account and low risk investment portfolio. In his will he had left mostly everything to his children, my father and uncle 50/50.

My father died the year before my grandfather. He was my grandfather’s primary care giver, executor of the will, and power of attorney. When he died this all transferred to my uncle and my father’s half of the inheritance rights went to me. My father was the “good son” the one that always took care of his elderly parents and even moved into my grandfathers house for years to take care of him. All while my uncle barely maintained contact with anyone in the family, even his own children who are mostly estranged from him.

Knowing the character of my uncle and his standing in the family, I suspect that my uncle began draining my grandfathers savings account, writing himself checks, around the time that my father died.. but I have no evidence of this.

I do have evidence of a large death bed gift that shows up in a “First and Partial Account.” This document from the estate lawyer shows the settled accounts and debts of my grandfather’s estate. In the debts section a death bed gift shows up, a check for more than half of his remaining cash savings was cashed by my uncle and is dated to the day of death. The only reason it appears at all in the document is because it didn’t clear until after death.

My family attests that my grandfather wasn’t coherent at the time of his death, he was heavily medicated in a hospice ward and had been in steep mental decline for over a year.

Theres no way he could have legally consented to this gift the day he died.

1. Do I have a legal recourse to dispute this death bed check (in the state PA)?

2. Is there any way gain access to the bank account records to account for all that may have been drained out of his accounts in the year leading up to his death.

There is also an issue with the deed to my grandfather’s house. A few years ago he had transferred the the house to his sons so it would be jointly held by them and bot subject to estate tax. When my father died would that mean my Uncle got full claim to it or does the share of the house transfer to my father’s estate?

Thank you