No money in estate?

[Baffled01]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
A friend left my mother and I $50k each in 2012. We were just friends, not related in any way. We were sent an accounting of the estate at that time for $2.2 million. There was a contest against the will, which was squashed. Then it was tied up with IRS.
So now 4 years later... executor, and son of deceased, has told me that there is no money left in the estate. He told me his father gave him money before he died, and that was the issue with the IRS. He says he had to put money into the estate to cover the tax payments. He wants to know if my mother and I will accept $7k each, instead of the $50k each. Says he is paying out of his own pocket, because there is no money in the estate, but that is all he can afford.
We plan on asking for an accounting of the will, but I'm wondering what our options are here. Thoughts? Thank you.

 

[Dandy Don]

Why have you waited so long to inquire about this? Did the executor ever notify you all about what was happening during the ongoing process while probate was going on or were you just left in the dark?

You have the right to ask for an accounting by sending a written letter to the executor (the request should not be a verbal request only). If he does not provide the information within 60 days, you have the right to go to court to ask the judge to compel the executor to do and/or produce the accounting.

But before you make the request, you should visit the county courthouse probate court and look at all of the documents in the probate file to see exactly how the estate was handled (there might be an accounting in there if he has done one already) and you will get a better understanding of how the estate was handled. If you can't visit the court in person, you can order the documents (probably for a small fee of between 10 cents to $1.00 per page) by mail, by contacting the county clerk of courts.

His explanation sounds fairly plausible but you need to "trust" and "verify" as much as you can to see if there are indications that he is or is not telling the truth.
Sometimes the estate has massive debt and/or the decedent has unknowingly or unwittingly placed assets in the estate that may not belong there if there had been previously designated beneficiaries for those assets and therefore those particular assets should not have been put in the will.

 

[Baffled01]

Sorry I should have explained better. We have been notified all along about what has been going on. The will was filed in Florida, and I can log into public records to see some of what was happening. The hold up was because of the other son contesting the will, and the IRS. The son/executor told me the IRS hold up was because of monies given to him by his father before he died (which we believe was about $1.5 million, according to the contestant's claims). He states that the money left in the estate is money that he, the son/executor, put there himself, to cover the taxes owed and is approximately $175k.
The current extension to close the estate is set to expire 8/31. Today I requested a full final accounting of the will.
I am assuming the son/executor wants us to relinquish our rights to will, so he gets back the remaining money in the estate, which he says he put there. I am also assuming that if we do nothing, he will have to give us the full amount his father wanted us to have, in order to close the estate.
I guess we can't decide anything though, without a full accounting..
Thanks for your help!

 

[Dandy Don]

You need to retain the services of your own probate attorney to represent your interests in this matter, if you have not already obtained one. This is NOT a do-it-yourself project.

 

[Baffled01]

I was afraid you would say that. The accounting he sent today was something he drew up himself on excel, and I have no way of knowing it's accuracy. Already the starting amount of the estate is lower than we were told when originally notified, so I'm afraid games are being played.
I am grateful for your help, we will look into securing a lawyer. Thank you!

 

[Dave1952]

So the estate has $175K. Doesn't matter who paid that money into the estate. There would be a Gift Tax due from the father or his estate. Has that tax been paid? Is the $175k meant to cover that tax? The gov. is ahead of you in line for payments so find out if the $175k is before or after taxes. If the tax has been paid and any other obligations taken care of. leaving a residue of $175k then you and your mom should expect to be paid in full.
You need to get a full and proper accounting. As others have said get the probate records, if any. You may wish to hire a lawyer.