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/