Brother (exec) has had estate tied up for 4 years.

[Katia654321]

WI, but bro lives in NC. My Mom died over 6 yrs ago and Dad 4yrs ago. I was exec for many yrs,but went out of country 6 months before Mom died. She made the eldest (of 4 kids) the exec right before I left thinking she needed someone in country. He has sent out a check of $7000 to each of us, but since their house sold for $125,000, not to mention I know they had bank accts, life ins, etc there is plenty more. He refuses to tell any of us how much is in the kitty, when/if probrate happened, basically anything. He said there was a prob w/ medicare and payment for a shipment of catheters- his excuse for the first two years. Now he's giving vague dates that come and go w/o any money. He's now ignoring me or being very offensive when he does acknowledge me. What recourse do I have to make him turn over documents (no longer believe anything he says) and the money?
Thank you

 

[justalayman]

get a complete copy of all the papers in the file at the probate court. That will help you figure out some of your questions.

If you have questions not answered still, it will help you formulate more on point questions.

Then ask those questions here.

 

[Dandy Don]

What year did he send the check to the beneficiaries?

Did he send the beneficiaries a copy of the will and an accounting after probate was over?

It is possible that the estate had large debt that needed to be paid off and that could be a possible reason why the beneficiaries did not receive more. If the bank accounts and life insurance had designated beneficiaries, then they will not be included as part of the estate.

Please don't make the mistake of using an accusatory tone when talking to the executor, as he most likely did the best job he could and it is a huge task to take on the responsibility of doing probate.

You will have a better understanding of what happened in this estate after you have looked at the probate file.

 

[Katia654321]

No probate papers filed

get a complete copy of all the papers in the file at the probate court. That will help you figure out some of your questions.

If you have questions not answered still, it will help you formulate more on point questions.

Then ask those questions here.

Thank you for your response. One of my other bro called the court two years ago and there were no papers filed. Thinking perhaps he went somewhere else to file them, he then called other places. No one had any information.

 

[justalayman]

Well, unless the estate could be settled without probate, you have a problem.

What bank/ account was the $7000 payment drawn on?

You say the house was sold. Who signed as grantor on the deed (look at the register of deeds in the county the house is in)

 

[Katia654321]

What year did he send the check to the beneficiaries?

Did he send the beneficiaries a copy of the will and an accounting after probate was over?

It is possible that the estate had large debt that needed to be paid off and that could be a possible reason why the beneficiaries did not receive more. If the bank accounts and life insurance had designated beneficiaries, then they will not be included as part of the estate.

Please don't make the mistake of using an accusatory tone when talking to the executor, as he most likely did the best job he could and it is a huge task to take on the responsibility of doing probate.

You will have a better understanding of what happened in this estate after you have looked at the probate file.

Thanks for your reply. He sent the check after 2 years. We have seen no paperwork, copy of will, etc. Not even convinced he did probate as one of my bro called and they couldn't find any information. Since I had been exec for 20+ yrs I know that the life ins, etc had no designated beneficiaries.

I returned from overseas one month before Mom passed and offered to take the position back. He didn't want to give it up. I was only gone for 4 months and I know there was no significant debt. House, car, etc all paid off. He has said 3 times that everything is finished and the checks will go out on __. He does have a reputation as being conniving.

Thank you for the tone reminder. I'm usually the cool one out of our bunch, but one bro has already died believing the other stole the estate. His wife is in dire straights financially. We just need it over.

 

[Katia654321]

Well, unless the estate could be settled without probate, you have a problem.

What bank/ account was the $7000 payment drawn on?

You say the house was sold. Who signed as grantor on the deed (look at the register of deeds in the county the house is in)

The payment was drawn on the exec personal acct. My Dad was still alive, although w/dementia, when the house was sold. Perhaps he signed, but I'm thinking the exec probably signed.

 

[justalayman]

The payment was drawn on the exec personal acct. My Dad was still alive, although w/dementia, when the house was sold. Perhaps he signed, but I'm thinking the exec probably signed.

unless probate was opened, there is no executor. It requires a court to accept the application of a party to be executor.

 

[Dandy Don]

Did both of your parents die in Wisconsin?

Has your brother never mentioned anything about what happened to the will?

His sending the payment to beneficiaries from his personal account is highly irregular and suspicious--there should have been an estate account opened up if in fact he opened up probate, which it appears that he didn't. Probably giving beneficiaries some "chump change" out of guilt for the greater amount he may have misappropriated. Conniving indeed--to the max!!!!

With a little bit of investigating on your own or with the assistance of a Wisconsin probate attorney or private investigator, you will most likely be able to uncover his misdeeds and force him to pay up or face legal consequences for his actions.

Please consult with a Wisconsin probate attorney (who practices in the same town or county where your father died) to decide if it would be to your advantage to open up probate yourself (or your attorney would open it up on your behalf), which would then give you or your attorney the legal authority to contact banks, insurance companies, and any other asset holders to get information about your father's bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc. and also order copies of your father's state and federal tax returns for at least the last 2 years he was alive to get other clues about his financial matters.

Go online to check the county courthouse probate records (for whatever county in Wisconsin that the deaths occurred in) and land records, searching by using your father's name to see what results may come up and your brother's name, to see if there were any court cases or land ownership involving his name.

I sure hope that your brother did not get your father to issue your brother a signed power of attorney that would have given your brother to handle your father's financial matters. If a power of attorney was granted, he could have used that fraudulently to have your brother's name added to your father's bank account or to change beneficiary designations on your father's life insurance policies to pay your brother only (which is illegal if he did that in fact). If you or your attorney discover that this has happened, you will have to decide whether you wish to charge him with breach of fiduciary duty or abuse of power of attorney or theft/misappropriation of assets (with the way he mishandled his father's assets--if he never filed to open up probate, then he had no legal authority to distribute any of your father's assets because he never received paperwork from the court to authorize him to act as executor).

I sure hope brother has some of his assets in savings or squirreled away, because if you all can prove what he has done, he will have to turn over some of that money to you!