Having an attorney executor removed?

undefined
What is the name of your state? Ohio

I don't know where else to turn...I am in need of advice ASAP. The situation is that my mother passed away in September of 2003 and in her very outdated will she made an attorney that she used to know her executor. He (in my opinion) is ruining everything!! She had a lot of debt and we are being forced to sell her home to pay off the debt...however because this attorney has SLOWLY moved on getting the proper paperwork filed we've lost the buyers for the house and now forclosure proceedings are starting. This is obviously very painful for me and I feel like he just doesn't care at all. I asked him at the beginning of this venture to step down and allow me to handle this and he refused. Now because we fight over everything (mostly his lack of letting me know anything) he's refusing to have any contact with my sister or I. We're heirs...doesn't he have to contact us either by phone or via letter to let us know what's happening? He has stated if I call his office again he will file harrassment charges on ME? I'm not trying to harrass him, I just would like to know what's going on. Like when are the court dates, what's happening with the house, estate, etc. etc. Aside from the fact that she was my mother and this is hard enough I am the responsible party for the balance of the funeral expenses (no life insurance) and I feel that I do have a great interest in knowing what's happening with the estates assets to know if I am going to need to take out a loan to pay off this mass debt. I guess my ultimate question is can he be removed? He absolutely won't step down (I'm not sure why) but I just can no longer deal with this man (and he won't talk to me) Should my sister and I have more information about the estate than what we have? I just don't know where to turn. We don't have any money to retain an attorney to fight him, I just want this nightmare to end. Thanks in advance for any advice you have.

You may be getting brushed or ripped off by the attorney, and the attorney may be lazy or incompetent, AND COMMITTING MALPRACTICE, or, on the other hand, you may be the proverbial beneficiary from hell who is badgering a capable and diligent attorney and driving up costs of adminstration -- which ultimately will be paid with your money. While I'd guess the former, your chances of replacing the attorney on your own are close to zero so I'd urge you to retain an attorney NOW to represent you and your sibling as beneficiaries. I'd do so NOW.

The attorney you retain will professionally review what has happened to date and can advise you what to do next and if needed get the court to replace attorney 1 and even sue him. Many attorneys will defer billing you until the funds from the estate (assuming there are any) come in to you, but none will handle this on a contingency basis just yet. Also, if Attorney 1 knows YOUR attorney is looking over his or her shoulder, that just may spur action, and the attorney knows what's next. That too would be valuable to you.

Yes, this attorney has been somewhat irresponsible in not adequately informing you, but please try to be a little more sympathetic. Lawyer may be frustrated because he might not even be able to collect an executor's fee with this case if the debts have wiped out the estate value, and he is doing you a favor by essentially working for free/no compensation!!!

You have no legal grounds to have him removed because he has done nothing wrong. It's not HIS fault that the home is going into foreclosure.

You have everything to gain by being nice to him until you at least have enough information from him to find out what is going on with the estate. Send him a letter to apologize for the frequency of your contact by saying you wer understandably a bit overanxious, and ask him about 2 main concerns you have:

(1) Will there be enough assets in the estate for him to be able to justifiably get paid and claim his executor fee? If so, exactly what assets are there? Ask him to just give you, by mail, a brief outline of what his outlook for the estate is and what he thinks will happen.

(2) After debts are paid (how much are the debts?), will there be enough left to pay off the outstanding mortgage due? What will the house sell for now and how much is due on the mortgage? It shouldn't be too difficult for you or whoever to find other buyers. In regards to the foreclosure proceedings you can get all of that information from the mortgage company or by going to the courthouse to look at the foreclosure file. Mortgage company is going to want the entire balance due, and the foreclosure process will take at least 30-60 days to work its way through the court, but you need to at least ask them to please cooperate with you in getting the house sold and explaining that it will take a little bit more time.

You can check once a week or more at the county courthouse probate court (or ask if the information in online) about when the next hearing is scheduled for your probate court case and also ask the court clerk what the name of the daily newspaper or legal newspaper is where the upcoming court hearings are listed/printed so you can check that paper on a daily basis for your particular probate case.

Obviously it would best to have a face-to-face meeting with this man in his office to find out all of the estate information if you could maintain your composure without getting angry at him, but at least if he responded to your letter that would be better than firing him and then having to replace him and pay someone else to start all over again. Grit your teeth and be nice to this man and you will benefit in the long run.

Did you even read the will to find out who the beneficiaries are and are you saying you have no idea at all of what your mother's assets are?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

Thanks for your replies. I realized I didn't go into detail in my previous post as to the entire situation (I was very angry) I do know what the assets are verses the debts..the situation is that my figures are very different from the attorney figures and he won't disclose his figures to me stating I can have a final accounting when it's all over with. My figures show + money in which the funeral home etc. could be paid and his show - money making the estate insolvant. The figures of bills ect. is what I have from his assistant that prepared everything? Aside from that issue, my husband and I are currently being sued over my mother's house. Apparently this attorney never let the mortgage co know that my mother passed away (until just a few months ago..she passed away in sept) and somehow they now are suing us for the balance of the house...which is totally incorrect, we don't own the house and are not inheriting it either. Our executor kept telling me not to worry he's handling it, but the law suit has not been dropped and because of that our potential buyers are willing to enter into this mess. I just don't want to end up somehow oweing thousands and thousands of dollars that I don't have and I'm really afraid that's where it's heading. I don't try to be a push, I'm just very young, newly married and have a new baby and have lost my mom in the process. I'm afraid and I want to make sure that things get handled in a correct and timely manner.

Thank you for the clarifying details.

Is what you are being sued for exactly a foreclosure lawsuit or is it some other type of lawsuit? The heirs names are listed on a foreclosure lawsuit even though they may not technically be owners (there is a legal reason for doing it although it doesn't make much sense to me) for legal reasons. What will end up happening is that a judgement in favor of the mortgage company will be issued showing that they are owed the money, but technically it is the estate that owes the money. You need to be getting a specific detailed explanation from this attorney (something else to ask about in your letter) about what his plans are for handling this, not just blowing you off by saying that he is handling it. You can either decide to pay the judgement or not pay it but there is no downside for you as an heir, since if you or the estate don't want to pay the judgement, the mortgage company is going to go ahead and put it up for sale to get its money back, but if there is any way you can prevent foreclosure or stall it, you need to do so so that you can get the home sold and have the right to be paid a portion of the profit for the estate's equity in the home.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])