Grave Robber Seeks “True Will” to Save Inheritance: 3 Things to Know About Estate Disputes with Annoying Relatives
Melanie Nash, 53, was one of four accused in the plan to open Eddie Nash’s vault in Colebrook, then rifle through his casket last May in a scene a prosecutor compared to an Edgar Allan Poe story. Police said she felt she was shorted in her share of the inheritance after her father died in 2004. They didn’t find a will in the casket. For the record this is a crime and Nash would be facing a trial this Month had she not pled guilty to charges of criminal mischief, interference with a cemetery, conspiracy and abuse of a corpse.
- Nash’s father had died and she was left nothing (this is sometimes referred to in the Probate game as “disinheriting”)
- Nash had considered robbing the grave for years to prove that her sister Susie Nash had “hid the will.”
- For her part the sister says there was always only one will that everyone knew about.
- What did they find in the corpse’s casket? Not a will but some cigarettes and vodka.
Ok so this story is weird, but it gets weirder. When asked for a statement Nash stated “All this was done for the right reasons and I know my father would be OK with it.” Eddie Nash had died of a heart attack at 68 and had started an equipment business in 1979 (still family owned) he has since been reburied.
What is there to take away here for a Palm Beach Probate Attorney? Well for one thingapparently when a crazy client suggests they are going to dig up their relative, you must take that seriously but also here are some other common sense observations:
- Relatives can make a fuss in and out of court. Here is a case where the family members were able to keep Nash out of the court room to contest the will, but she was still able to make a fuss. Maybe it was better to just let this be heard in Court.
- You do not need an “alternative will” to challenge a will in Florida Probate! Let me say that again, you do not need an alternative will to contest a will in probate (assuming you’re an interested party who has something to inherit). In other words, there was nothing to gain from digging up grandpa’s bones unless your well, a bone collector.
- Family feuds last a while. Here the feud had been on going for years, Mr. Nash had been dead while. Do not think that will calm a dispute because it wont. The best way to avoid the fight is have a good estate plan now and avoid the fights later.
Want to read more? Check out the full story here: http://kron4.com/2015/03/02/woman-feels-shorted-of-dead-dads-inheritance-digs-up-his-grave-in-search-of-real-will/