Assets being hidden in estate

The original post on this subject follows these new questions. It has the background needed. This is occuring in the state of Maine.

My friend's brother, the executor of their father's will is known to be hiding assets of the deceased. The will has not been filed for probate but the son, a student with big $$ in student loans, suddenly has enough to buy a brand new Land Rover as well as making many other costly purchases. It is known that he does not have the cash nor the credit to do so.

It is also known that both the father and son have avoided taxes over many years. The deceased was executor of his mother's will--she passed away in August, he in October. He never filed her will for probate and never gave copies to his siblings. His son has his grandmother's will but refuses to acknowledge it.

There are many, many victims of the deceased--it is well known that they wish to sue the estate, but, according to what I've been told, are waiting for it to go to probate to do so?

How can this be forced to probate in order to keep the brother honest? Can the brother/executor file the copy (not the original) of the will he has and will it be valid? Would a call to the IRS be in order for the tax evasion (the brother refuses to file his grandmother's final taxes)? What are the options of the many victims who wish to sue the estate (rightfully so!)??

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Original message:I hope you can help me help a friend.

Recently her father committed suicide after being arrested for molesting children (which there are MANY). He rewrote his will, essentially writing her out of it, and had it witnessed the day he killed himself. He left her a small, worthless item and left her brother the rest of the estate, naming him executor.

She would like to contest this will, but is wondering if she has grounds to do so.

She would also like to know if it's likely that the victims (which she is one also) are able to sue the estate for compensation for what he has done to them? Can she, as a victim sue the estate?

Her brother also gave her what he thought was a copy of the will, she finds now that she has the original and he has a copy. Is his copy admissible in probate court? How can she find out if the will was entered at the court and if there is a certified copy there?

As you can tell this is a pretty bad situation. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated! This occured in Maine.

(01-27-2001)


Your friend's brother, the executor, has made a mistake by not filing the will for probate. Most jurisdictions require that the will be filed within 30 days after the person died. Someone (preferably a beneficiary or someone with an interest in the estate, but it could also be an anonymous person) should write a letter to the probate court judge at the county courthouse to inform them of this (include the names and month/year of dates of deaths of BOTH of the decedents), so that they can use their authority to contact the executor to inform him of proper procedures.

The fact that the grandmother's will has not been filed yet will be of special interest, since they will want to know who has been taking care of her assets and financial affairs all this time.

Also need to ask the probate court clerk or a probate/estate attorney in Maine whether state law or county law requires executors to be bonded. If they do, then any beneficiary whose monies may have been stolen or misappropriated can recover the money from the bonding insurance company, and the executor's finances can be investigated. If not, then the person might have to file a lawsuit to get their money back.

What do you mean by "victims of the deceased" who are considering suing the estate? They may want to consider finding out how valuable the estate is (whether or not there will be enough assets in the estate after debts, taxes and funeral expenses are paid) before deciding on whether to sue.

A copy/photocopy of a will CAN NOT be filed--any one who has information about where the original is should inform the probate court. A call to the IRS would be a good idea to report the tax evasion, but only if you know for sure that income taxes have not been paid for more than 1 year (he does have a legally permissible amount of time--a few months--to file the estate income taxes, so if this is what you were referring to as not having been filed as the grandmother's final taxes--then do NOT report this, since he still may need time to complete all of the paperwork and submit an accounting to the probate court when everything is finished).

The friend who was written out of the will does not have any options, since her father's wishes are very clear that she has been disfavored. She can contact the county courthouse to determine if the will has been filed, but since the death was recent, it probably has not been. It is supposed TO BE FILED WITHIN 30 DAYS after the person dies. This doesn't mean that the work has to be completed within that 30 days, only that a record of the will be made available so that probate proceedings can be done and so that creditors can be notified. If she has the original will, she really does need to give it to her brother, since the original is the only one that will be legally admissible to probate court. If the original will was prepared by an attorney, then if her brother knows who the attorney was, he might be able to get an original from the attorney.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

To clarify...

The friend who I speak of was left a desk in the will. She has never been given this property. The will was written and witnessed on the day that her father committed suicide- which is within 12 hours of being arrested for molestation of children. She is also a victim of his.

The brother, hastily handed her a "copy" of the will and told her that she was going to get nothing from the estate and should keep her nose out of it. She realized later that the copy she has is the original, not a photocopy.

As far as the IRS--the father, as well as the son, have been cheating on their taxes-hiding income- for many years.

As per the grandmother's will--her father was the executor of that will. It was never probated and his brothers and sisters (potential heirs) were never given a copy of the will, even though they were told by her that they were being left quite a few items of value. My friend found the will in her father's house. The brother took it from her and told her that it wasn't any of her business. He does not intend to file his grandmother's final income tax forms-they were not done before his father (her executor) died.

So now two estates are intertwined, money is being hidden as well as items and items that were promised people in each of the wills is being disposed of without going to them.

What are her options??

(01-27-2001)

Regarding the nonpayment of federal income taxes, that should be reported to the IRS and please be sure to mention that there was no intention of the grandmother's taxes to be filed.

About the friend who has not received the desk that was mentioned in the will. She needs to contact the county courthouse to see if the will has been filed yet. Whether or not it has been filed does not really make a difference now. If it hasn't been, she should write a letter to the probate judge at the county courthouse informing him of the fact that she hasn't yet received her property, so they they can watch for the file to be opened and notify her when something becomes available. The court needs to know that this executor is not acting responsibly and can reprimand him or possibly appoint someone to replace him if evidence of other breach of duties is found. If she knows of any other people who have not yet received items of personal property yet, she might also mention their names.

However, in fairness to the executor, it must be mentioned that he has a little bit of leeway in the fact that he could use the excuse that he is still trying to close the estate. But at least if he isn't doing anything, then her letter of complaint will certainly get things started.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

(01-27-2001)

Regarding the nonpayment of federal income taxes, that should be reported to the IRS and please be sure to mention that there was no intention of the grandmother's taxes to be filed.

About the friend who has not received the desk that was mentioned in the will. She needs to contact the county courthouse to see if the will has been filed yet. Whether or not it has been filed does not really make a difference now. If it hasn't been, she should write a letter to the probate judge at the county courthouse informing him of the fact that she hasn't yet received her property, so they they can watch for the file to be opened and notify her when something becomes available. The court needs to know that this executor is not acting responsibly and can reprimand him or possibly appoint someone to replace him if evidence of other breach of duties is found. If she knows of any other people who have not yet received items of personal property yet, she might also mention their names.

However, in fairness to the executor, it must be mentioned that he has a little bit of leeway in the fact that he could use the excuse that he is still trying to close the estate. But at least if he isn't doing anything, then her letter of complaint will certainly get things started.

She DOES have some grounds for filing against the estate, since he was within hours or days of being arrested for the molestation charges. However, she really does need to consult with a local estate/probate attorney to see if she could afford the cost of pursing those charges and whether there would be enough funds left in the estate (after expenses are paid) to be worth it.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

Thanks so much for the advice- it is greatly appreciated and helps clarify the direction to take.