Jul 31, 2024
Evans Lee Brown Jr. didn’t have any children. So, when he passed away in 2022, the Lithonia, Georgia, man left his home and inheritance to his nephew, Trahan Brown.
But a 48-year-old man named Randy Watson submitted paperwork to probate court claiming that he was Lee’s son. Watson seized Lee’s house, money, and even his ashes.
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This wasn’t an estranged or long-lost son. Watson lied about being Lee’s son — a fact that was proven after a court-ordered paternity test that Brown requested. Watson is not related to the family at all.
For Brown, the situation was devastating. He had grown up going to his uncle’s house as a kid.
“I have a lot of memories here,” he told Atlanta News First (ANF). “It’s very emotional.”
Now, he doesn’t even have his uncle’s ashes. However, this isn’t an unheard of scenario.
Next of kin rules are vague in Georgia
Lee didn’t make a will, so Brown didn’t have proof that he was the rightful heir to his uncle’s home and assets.
When someone dies without a will in Georgia, the heirs must fill out a “letter of administration” to gain the rights to the estate, according to Georgia Legal Aid.
Watson quickly swooped in with the paperwork, which doesn’t require any proof of kinship. All he had to do was swear that he was Lee’s son and sign the papers.
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“I’ve seen cases that are absolutely heartbreaking where things like this happen because [of] the person committing fraud,” James Clifton, a 15-year veteran probate attorney, told ANF. “They have no care.”
Clifton urges everyone to get a will to avoid this fate for their family. Brown ended up going to probate court to try and get his uncle’s home and inheritance back.
Legal matters for the death of a loved one, such as lawyer or court fees, costs an average of $2,788, according to the 2024 Cost of Dying Report from Empathy, a platform that helps families navigate bereavement. The report adds that this happens over an average of a 15-month period.
Personal finance celebrity Dave Ramsey also encourages writing up a will for this exact reason: to avoid putting your family through the costly and time-consuming ordeal of probate court.
“If you hate the people in your family, leave unclear instructions and no will. Because they will all fight [for] the rest of their lives over your crap,” he said in an 11-second clip from The Ramsey Show.
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A bittersweet conclusion
Thankfully, the court sided with Brown over his uncle’s estate. However, it took getting a DNA test from Watson (which proved he wasn’t related to Lee) and a lack of documentation for kinship to disprove his claims, according to ANF.
But Brown wasn’t reunited with much of his uncle’s estate. By then, the home had been foreclosed and auctioned off.
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“There was never an opportunity to go in the home, clean the home, none of that,” Brown’s wife, Renee, told ANF. “[The house] was cleared out.”
ANF Investigates uncovered receipt records that Watson had access to the property at one point. During that time, a local disposal company came to the property at least twice to move more than 60,000 pounds of stuff, likely including Lee’s ashes.
“It’s unfortunate because that is often the result, that the bad actor receives funds by selling the property or whatever and it’s gone,” Clifton told ANF. “They spend it.”
Another way to protect yourself from a fraudster taking over your estate when you’re dead is to appoint a trusted power of attorney, Clifton added. This allows a trusted person to make financial, medical or life decisions when you’re incapacitated.
Actress Sharon Stone didn’t have a financial power of attorney when she had a stroke in 2001. Her recovery took seven years, in which she lost control of her estate. Various people ended up stealing $18 million from her during this time.
“I had zero money,” the actress told The Hollywood Reporter. “My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people’s names.”
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Sabina Wex is a writer and podcast producer in Toronto. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Fast Company, CBC and more.
