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My father died, and there were three surviving adult children. My siblings and I each received a cashier's check for $10,000 with a note from my ex-stepmother saying it was a gift from my father. No one ever contacted me to take care of my father's accounts. Please tell me if I have any rights to find out how his accounts were disbursed. I am the oldest surviving child.

Last Updated: July 28, 2008

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Given that no additional information from your ex-stepmother is forthcoming, you probably will need to see an estate planning attorney to resolve this issue. The more information you can provide to the attorney about your father's assets, the better. Also, find out whether your father had a will or not and, if so, who was the named executor. If there was no will, state laws of intestacy are supposed to apply. Unfortunately, estate assets are not always distributed the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes, people who have access to a deceased person's funds spend them in other ways. You will probably need to take legal action as soon as possible to obtain a full accounting of what happened to your father's accounts. We would like your feedback on this Personal Finance Frequently Asked Question.

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