Death of a Petitioner

[mercator]

Merc, please express to Lily how much we support her here. I do not know if she posts on 001, but she would likely find additional support from the sisters there.

 

As for you, Frank:

 

 

 

Nice job.

197999[/snapback]

I havent told her about 001, but I did tell her about here. I dont want to throw her to the wolves - haha.

[hunter]

This is at least the 2nd or 3rd story that I've heard of on CFL regarding a petitioner's death.  It underscores for all of us to write up a legal Will, have a relationship established with your wife and USA family members along with means of contacting them (phone numbers, email/snail mail addresses) and let all of your family know your wishes and and the general contents of your Will. 

 

Of course the property proceeds are dictated by State law.  I do not think that the Feds have any say in any of the proceeds aside from Social Security benefits that the non-resident spouse may be entitled.  (I ain't no lawyer.)

197891[/snapback]

I wouldnt be so inclined to help with air fare. I would however be inclined to help if the available lawyer will not settle for a % of the estate for his hard earned efforts. Man, this touches me, I dont have a will, and i'm in P-3 stage waiting for P-4, so I think i ought to. This is a sad but very enlightening post.

[Yuanyang]

I need give [death certificate] embassy Gaung Zou! them will give me Visa! I can come!

197994[/snapback]

It sure would be nice if we could get some confirmation that the consulate would issue a (tourist?) visa on an expedited basis. Georgia death certificates are available to the public, so getting one to her shouldn't be a problem. Getting Guangzhou to act quickly may be.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this? In the meantime, I'll start making some inquiries tomorrow about the estate.

198009[/snapback]

I don't know what I can do, but I'll help with whatever you might need. GUZ needs to act quickly here. It would be uncivilized and callous to not allow this dear lady to see her husband's final resting place.

[mercator]

I agree. She tells me that she spoke to GUZ and they want to see a death certificate before they will do anything.

 

Lily is getting hopeful that things are going. She has called me a half dozen times in the last two days and emailed me a few times as well. She is going to send me a copy of her K-3 paperwork and I will forward it on to Frank. That way she can get in touch with an attorney and move forward. It is good to hear she is hopeful, and she is excited about the possibility of visiting the states and seeing her in-laws and his resting place, and even his home, though that seems like it would be sad, even if offering closure...

[king]

There is a law provision for spouses of petitioners, who have died, to try

obtain an immigrant visa. INA Sec.201((2)(A)(i). There are some conditions for doing this. The most important one for this woman is that she had been married to the petitioner more than 2 years at the time of his death. The other two conditions do not apply to this woman at this time.

 

If she is covered by the law, she can self-petition at the CIS in Guangzhou.

[SheLikesME?]

Merc & Frank,

Anything I can do please call on me. I feel urgent about getting the property for his wife. Any visit and visa can be done later. It IS most encouraging that his wife was mentioned in the obit. But if there is anything we can do on CFL for her, it is to help make sure she gets her rightful due on his property. Hopefully that would afford a plane ticket or what ever else she wants to do.

 

Wothout a will I am not sure what the survivors can do with checking accounts and property. Real estate will take time. Checking accounts may have had his relatives names on them. Who paid for the funeral?

 

My father and I simply wrote a letter to a probate judge on a relative that had died and was getting took by her pastor. The guy did not even call his fellow pastor whom he met before she died that was related to her and us. Anyway our letter and appearance in court the day of the probate got this case a new executor involved. The pastor was the executor originally and boy what all he did. The problem with a will is finding it. Usually people do not file it as a matter of public record. In this case it sounds like there is no will.

 

If the lawyer will not act quick enough maybe a judge can at least put some kind of hold on his accounts until this is cleared up. I have no diea, I just feel for her situation, and relatives can be mean or not caring to softening up later. They may be suspecious of her, the wifes motives. Maybe they can be taought to understand I don't know. Merc do you know how the mother or sister feel about Lily at this point?

Edited March 13, 2006 by SheLikesME (see edit history)

[frank1538]

There is a law provision for spouses of petitioners, who have died, to try

obtain an immigrant visa. INA Sec.201((2)(A)(i). There are some conditions for doing this. The most important one for this woman is that she had been married to the petitioner more than 2 years at the time of his death. The other two conditions do not apply to this woman at this time.

 

If she is covered by the law, she can self-petition at the CIS in Guangzhou.

198201[/snapback]

Unfortunately, she was married less than two years.

[shyaushu]

The legal ramifications of this matter are, of course, of utmost importance and require swift action before everything's gone, but the human tragedy here is almost overwhelming.

 

Imagine! Having your husband die a month or two 12,000 miles away before you even realized it? Imagine poor Lily dreaming of the life she and her husband were going to have when they finally got their visa, and she was deaming about a man who was already deceased.

 

Where is she going to get the moral and emotional support she needs?

[mercator]

I can't imagine her mindset. Not hearing from her husband for two months, and then a call from immigration.

 

As for the moral support, well that is where my wife comes in, as well as a friend of Lily's who is a translator. And us. I am sure she has other friends, but I get the impression that because she is sad they keep their distance because they either want to give her space to grieve or they want to keep from being sad themselves. I am not well versed on this aspect of the Chinese culture.

 

What I know is Frank is really on top of this and I think soon Lily will be in contact with the people she needs to in order to get the probate matter settled. As for visiting the states... that is the secondary matter I guess since it is not as time sensitive (to be blunt).

 

My wife tells me that Paul's mother is fairly old (Paul was 53, so you can expect she is 70+, but my wife thinks she is in her 80's), and she is not comfortable speaking with Lily because of language barriers. Lily's English is okay, but not great, and her accent is pretty pronounced. I understood her okay, but I talk to my wife 30-40 hours a month so I guess I just process it.

 

The sister, well that is where the suspicion lies. My wife tells me she lives in Arizona, and is struggling financially. My wife tells me that the sister told Lily after she found out about Paul's leaving that she would handle everything and take care of it. Then she has not heard from her since, despite calling her and emailing Paul's sister regularly.

 

Again, all of this is coming second hand from my wife, and she is biased on the matter and pretty unhappy with Paul's sister and wife. However, I think at least some of it is true. The sister either has ulterior motives, or keeping Lily informed is just not important to her.

[frank1538]

Just an update for those who might be interested. We have recommended a lawyer here in Atlanta who is willing to help Lily with the probate, and she speaks Cantonese which should be helpful. Further, she would be willing to work for a percentage of the estate without even knowing what the value of the estate is. Hopefully, she will be in touch with Lily very soon.

 

Mercator and his wife have kept the lines of communication open with Lily and have done an awful lot to help ease her concerns. The game plan is to try to address the probate matters without the need for a visa for Lily to come to the US so as to avoid delays that might come about if Lily waited on a visa before settling the estate. King's office is able to assist Lily with the visa if it is required.