My mother passed away intestate in 1996. So there were no prior arrangements as far as her possessions go. I have nothing that was my Mother...

Question

My mother passed away intestate in 1996. So there were no prior arrangements as far as her possessions go. I have nothing that was my Mother's, I am not that type of person. My brother has made himself the keeper of the family pictures; these are precious to me. I am the eldest son with the closest being ten years my junior. So, there are alot of pictures that have little or no point of reference for him ie; older relatives, my childhood pictures etc...... What legal options are open to me as he refuses to relinquish them? He keeps them in a box! I want to treat them as the precious memories that they are. I am a Personal Injury Paralegal who is not familiar with Probate law.

Answer

If your mother passed without a surviving spouse, then her children by law are equally entitled to her estate. If there were any valuable assets, then someone would have been appointed to administer them, but as is often that case that was not done, but the lack of administration does not mean that one child can retain wahtever he/she wants for personal posession that do not have monetary value.

Given the great amount of time that has passed and the expense associated with any formal legal action, your best bet may be to pull a copy of 18-A MRS 2-103 to demonstrate that all children are legally entitled to equal parts of the estate. You may want to then suggest that the photos be professionally copied at your cost, and then you can each have a set or mix and match photos and copies.