Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

I had a bunch of old birthday presents. Movies, mostly. Two of them were taken away without my permission by my father and given to my siblings. There is no paper trail, and the person who gave them to me is now dead and cannot verify. They were stored along-side other films that belonged to the rest of the family. My siblings live somewhere else and are hiding from me, and my father says he doesn't know where they are, but just recently gave an heirloom of my mother's to them. He knows, and refuses to get my old birthday presents back. The excuse he used is that I "never owned any of it in the first place".

What steps should I take to get them back? I feel so lost.


Asked on 12/31/16, 4:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

There are a whole lot of details left out here and a whole lot more going on than what you relate. How old are you? Your father took these things - so he is the wrongdoer. And why are the siblings "hiding" from you? Nobody stays hidden anymore unless they live in a cave in Afghanistan. Anyone can be found - if not on one of the free sites then by using a private detective.

Regrding giving away a family heirloom of your mother's that was never yours. Where is your mother? I assume she is dead. If so, did she have a will? When did she die? Her stuff would pass as per her will if any or else to her husband and her children. Depending on what she had, chances are any personal property passed to your father, so he could give it to anyone he choose. Obviously, you do not get along with your father and siblings but I don't see how you can enforce any rights to the heirloom. You don't relate any details to indicate when mother died or if an estate was probated for her or where - different states have different laws. And I do not know if a caveat or objection could be filed and if it would be financially worthwhile if it could.

As for your movies, are these family movies of some kind? What you leave out is how your father came to possess these things. What age were you when the things were take a way? When were they taken away? More than 4 years ago? Even if you sued your father for conversion, you would only get the value of the things converted/stolen - not recovery of the items. I don't see how you could legally recover them from your siblings even if you could sue them - even a thief can convey good title, What that means is even if tour father took these things and disposed of them, if your siblings had no specific involvement and do not know where these things s came from, then I don't see why a judge would make them give them back. Its not like they have title to show ownership. Sorry but that is my opinion based on what little information you provided. Posting a query publicly is not a substitute for a consult with an attorney.

And if you feel lost without a few movies, then you got bigger problems. Things are not important in life. Things can be replaced, even if they are family movies or heirlooms. They do not define who you are. You still have memories and no one can take those from you. You can be whoever you choose to be. I would not waste time mourning lost items and would start investing time in figuring out who you are and who you want to be and in cultivating healthy relationships with those who respect and love you.

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Answered on 1/02/17, 12:06 pm


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