Looking for direction

[phibrybout]

Long story short…
- FIL passed 2 years ago and was a former county deputy in the 70’s & 80’s and still posessed his service revolvers
- Step mother recently passed
- Step sister (getting more evil by the day) has since laid claim to both weapons and now has them at her home in NC along with all legal paperwork from the parents home

We do not have any other info on the weapons other than 38 & 357 revolvers. Does anyone know of any agency that may have records of them since the were once service weapons? We do not have the S#’s either.

Thank you for any help you can lend!

 

[stage20]

Does she have them illegally? File a police report even without the serial numbers. I'm sure they can tie the two together if it's that's straightforward. If it's a pissing match between the family and there is no documentation she has them illegally, I don't think there is much you can do but be upset with her.
@ABlaster may be able to help.

 

[Bowhntr6pt]

I see this all the time in my work as a Deputy.

Most likely those were personally owned as back in the day it was the norm for officers to purchase their own duty pistol. There probably isn't any record at the old agency as record retention on things like that is generally two years, agencies like to destroy records like that due to the logistics and cost of storage. Besides, even if there is an old qualification record with a serial number, it has no impact on your possession problem.

Did the deceased have a will or any written wishes? If not, it's going to be your word against the SIL's as to whether or not mom gave her the pistols before her death or what mom may or may not have requested... not what you want to hear... but courts will only deal in documented fact... and in this case, absent any document showing ownership and desired ownership upon death, the saying "possession is 9/10th of the law" may end up applying. Mom's not here to say otherwise.

If there is a will, and the pistols are mentioned, then the SIL may have committed theft against the Estate of the deceased.

Bottom line... no paperwork, most likely a mute issue.

Who is handling the deceased's affairs?

 

[Shootist]

Unless they were left to you or your wife specifically in the will and evil SIL is not a felon, not much you can do about it.

If there was a will and she has not given you a copy, you need an attorney, the Will, will have to go to probated and should name the executor. If no will then you really need an attorney, because the estate is intestate and if there are multiple heirs it will have to go to probate court.

Edit to add, your wife is really going to find out what her siblings are like now.

 

[ABlaster]

I don’t have anything to add that Bowhntr didn’t cover already. It happens all the time when one family member runs off with property that isn’t covered in any paperwork.

 

[phibrybout]

Thank you all for the info!

Info that was left out is that the MIL had several MAJOR health episodes in the last 2 years and the SIL had her change the deed to the house and the will after those episodes which is illegal and is being pursued. There are a multitude of details that we can prove but just wasn’t sure about the weapons. The SIL took all legal paperwork to her house in NC and hasn’t shared with anyone so yes, we are in touch with attorneys for clarity and help!

Once again thank you!

Will keep y’all posted on any progress.

 

[Shootist]

Thank you all for the info!

Info that was left out is that the MIL had several MAJOR health episodes in the last 2 years and the SIL had her change the deed to the house and the will after those episodes which is illegal and is being pursued. There are a multitude of details that we can prove but just wasn’t sure about the weapons. The SIL took all legal paperwork to her house in NC and hasn’t shared with anyone so yes, we are in touch with attorneys for clarity and help!

Once again thank you!

Will keep y’all posted on any progress.

Best of Luck to you.

 

[justapilgrim]

If you want the guns why not offer to buy them...I'm guessing she would rather have cash than pistols.

 

[Welldoya]

Bottom line is people suck.
I know two people whose brother had their sick mother sign a will he had changed leaving everything to him. Two separate cases.
My uncle took all my grandfather’s guns, he’s gone now and his daughter supposedly has no idea what happened to them. I even offered to buy them at market value plus.

 

[ABlaster]

It happened to my dad with my grandfather’s guns too. My aunt (dad’s SIL) was extremely anti-gun and immediately disposed of them upon granddad’s death even before the will was read.

My dad was fortunate to have taken custody of a few of them a few years earlier, but most of them were never heard from again.

Funny, now that I’m telling the story I remember my aunt lived in NC as well.

 

[Bowhntr6pt]

Thank you all for the info!

Info that was left out is that the MIL had several MAJOR health episodes in the last 2 years and the SIL had her change the deed to the house and the will after those episodes which is illegal and is being pursued.

That's going to be a steep hill to climb... you're going to exhaust funds trying to get somewhere with this only to possibly end up worse off financially and mentally.

Any specifics as to the claim the above action was "illegal" that you can share for context? Forged signatures etc, ?

Just be careful some lawyer isn't using this to make a dollar... many lawyers will tell you what they think you want to hear...

ETA- obviously I'm not a lawyer, but after working twenty-one years LE in a high-end retirement community where these type situations and allegations are common place, I've seen these things go south and never work out for the good.

 

[Welldoya]

Yep, lawyers will suck you for every nickel they can get out of you. They will drag it out as long as they can.
I was involved in a lawsuit about 30 years ago. My wife’s business partner left us holding the bag. After the lawyers dragged it out for 3 years, we would have been better off taking her first offer.
There’s an old saying - one lawyer in a small town will go broke but 2 lawyers will get rich.