Probate Malpractice

[MarleneWill]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri


My minor daughters father died and listed her as one of two heirs. The estate attorney claimed he was next to homeless. This attorney has been disbarred for malpractice.
A guardian was appointed. Friend of disbarred attorney. I was not notified. An inventory list is not complete and was not listed until a year after death. Assets disappeared. I requested court supervision, it was approved. Another year passed, another year passed, now they are filing a final statement, I have not received a first statement or any accounting of estate. Guardian has not filed any petitions for my minor daughter. How can I filed objections to this? I am a single Mom, not much money to fight back with attorneys, there are substantial assets that were stolen.

[Dandy Don]

It's truly horrific that you are being treated this way, but this is not a do-it-yourself project--the only way you will win is to get an attorney to represent YOUR side (or rather your daughter's interests) in this matter.

Who is the other heir? A minor child or an adult?

What is the estimated total value of the estate or of the assets that you say have disappeared or were stolen? Do you have some idea of what form the assets would have been in (stocks, bonds, real estate, pension, etc.?)? Start interviewing with different probate attorneys until you find one willing to represent you. Tell them you are impoverished and can not afford to pay in advance. As soon as you tell them the value of the assets in the estate that were stolen, believe me, they will be willing to forego an upfront fee in order to get their fee when the assets have been recovered. And might have the power to ask federal and state tax authorities for prior year tax returns so you can get some idea of what his assets were.

It's hard to figure out exactly what has happened here, but I wonder if perhaps the unscrupulous attorney may have gotten a signed power of attorney from your daughter's father which would have allowed him to retitle assets in the attorney's name or in someone else's name, which may or may not be illegal depending on what laws Missouri has about abuse of power of attorney.

So what does the final statement say?

Get an attorney as soon as possible and he/she can help you figure everything out about what to do and how to proceed.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)