Sally, the widow who had lived next door, was in a nursing home; Bill, Sally’s only child, had just died unexpectedly. With Sally incapacitated, there was no one to administer Bill’s estate. He had never married, and had no children.

He had been very security-conscious, and had secreted his will. We did not know who was to receive his assets or who he had named to make sure his wishes were carried out.

The Orphan’s Court granted our petition for probate, and we opened Bill’s estate and began to marshal his assets and work to preserve Sally’s interests in her assets. Only recently did we find his original will, locked in a safe hidden in a closet.

The will, which has now been filed with the Court, directed that his mother serve as his Personal Representative, and that she receive the assets of his Estate. While the latter directive is the legal default since Bill had no spouse or children, the former provision is void since she is evidently not able to administer his estate.

There was no backup or successor Personal Representative named. So, while he had taken steps to plan, he had not taken sufficient steps. He did not plan for the unexpected.

We find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of delving into the most personal affairs of a man and woman we had never met until called upon to solve their legal needs. We are doing what we can to be sure she is cared for, but wish we knew better what she would want.

Slowly, we are forming a picture of their lives. He seems to have been a complex and interesting individual, and we wish we had had the pleasure of his acquaintance before "meeting him" in this fashion.

Sally will receive Bill’s estate assets after administration. But what of Sally’s estate?

It has been alleged by the nursing home that Sally is not competent. If the Court concurs, she will be unable to change her will, which provides that all her assets pass to . . . Bill, of course. He is, after all, her only child. There is no provision for an alternate distribution.

Thus, her assets will be distributed as if she had no will, since her only child predeceased her leaving no children of his own. This means that her estate will be given to her estranged siblings. Evidently, she had not spoken to any of them for decades. And they will receive everything she, her husband and son had worked a lifetime to accumulate.

Sally’s medical directive named Bill as her sole medical decision-maker. Her power of attorney named him as sole agent. This means that there is no one to make medical decisions for Sally or to manage her assets. Thus, a guardianship petition has had to be filed to make provision for her care, making her situation a matter of public record and incurring significant expense.

Don’t let this happen to you and your loved ones. Review your documents. Make sure your will, power of attorney and medical directive are up-to-date and provide for the unexpected.