Probate where lawyer is the exucuter and not working on the will

[borel84]

Im in Texas and here is the background.

My grandmother passed away 2 years ago it will be 3 years in Nov. She had her boyfriend as the executor of the will he ended up almost killing her all he wanted was her stuff before she passed away she made the family lawyer the executor and my aunt is the sole heir. The lawyer has been a family lawyer for 25-30 years. Well when my grandmother passed they were getting everything in order and they asked the lawyer how much it will cost to probate the will so they paid him in full up front. Nobody is contesting the will or anything its not a big will like 2 houses, car and whatever amount of money she has all her debt has been paid. the lawyer has stopped working on the case my aunt calls him every week and we keep getting ran around he tells us oh it will be 2 months or whatever but nothing is done on the probate case the last documents file with the courthouse were appraisment and inventory approval.

They dont know what to do and neither do I the lawyer is just lazy. What can we do to get this probate done? Can we get another lawyer to do this or what? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[curb1]

Why did "they paid him in full up front"? Hasn't anyone watched the news to see what happens when contractors are "paid up front"? There are some that never do the job. Not much differently than some attorneys. The reason to act promptly disappears as soon as they get paid.

 

[borel84]

They paid him because they had the money and they were not sure if they would be able to pay him later. I do agree if you pay up front they already got the money so why work on it.

But still looking for some help.

 

[anteater]

It's neither here nor there now... But since he was going to be appointed by the court to administer the estate, he should have been compensated from the estate assets - like any other personal representative - rather than asking the beneficiary to pay him up front.

But still looking for some help.

Your aunt does need to consult with another attorney. And, at the very least, have that attorney send a stern letter to the first attorney. At worst, she will need that attorney to petition the court to have the first attorney removed and replaced.

 

[curb1]

Kha Ching !!