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Executor not acting in best inetrest of estate

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Fivefootsix

Junior Member
Ney York

My friend passed away leaving her only son the sole beneficiary of her estate.
Shortly after his mother's passing, the Executor changed the locks on the home, and sold it immediatly, never allowing the beneficiary to return for any personal items. The family pet was confiscated by the Executor and placed at separate location. The Executor removed license plates off both vehicles so the beneficiary could not mantain driving is own car as it was registered/titled/insured to his deceased mother.

Because he is 20 years old, he fell under NY EPTL 5-3.1 and is entitled to the material possessions of the home (where both he and his mother resided), along with the family pet (which was taken away from him), and one of the 2 vehicles (he & mom drove), and a sum of $15,000.00.

It took several months, but under the EPTL law, the beneficiary received the $15,000.00.
The possessions of the house were delivered by the Executor (via moving company) to an address the benificiary provided. Many possessions are "missing".
The family pet has since been "obtained" by the beneficiary.
The vehicle he the beneficiary is entitled to remains at a storage location. The beneficiary is in possession of the necessary paperwork (letter of testimentary, duplicate title, etc...), to title and register the car to himself, but he has been informed that the car is not in running condition and buried deep in the storage location and unable to access.

I should also mention that the Executor changed the address of the beneficiary's child support checks to her location and has been cashing them for several months without notifying child support that his mother is deceased. No child support money is being forwarded for support. Child Enforcement is investigating that situation because that has nothing to do with the estate, and future checks will be paid directly to the child (age 20) for another year.

This is a story of control and greed. The estate is not worth much, but there is money from the sale of the house that still needs to be disbursed. The will stipulated that the bebeficiary be cared for by the estate until age 21, and thus far, the executor has made it near impossible for the beneficiary to receive what is rightfully his.

My question? Because the attorney fees are piling up, is there a way for the beneficiary to bring charges up regarding the above situations by representing himself? The way I see it, the estate money is being unnecessarily squandered on storage and moving fees, and the executor is not acting in the best interest of the beneficiary.
The beneficiary remain homeless, with no transportation and little money.

There are many more immoral "wrong-doings" by the executor, but I'll wait for your replies and I thank you for any input you may be able to provide.

What is the name of your state? New York
 


Fivefootsix

Junior Member
The executrix is the beneficiary's estranged aunt who resides a significant distance away (in NY). The will was prepared 2 months before death due to cancer and the deceased surely did not expect her only son to be treated this way by a family member. The Exec refused to even give the beneficiary a copy of his mothers death certificate (which he has since obtained on his own). I'm aware it is not uncommon for family members to bicker over Probate matters, but this situation far exceeds anything I've ever heard of.

For what it's worth, I should also mention that the deceased had not been on speaking terms with immediate family for most of her life (54 years), and only contacted them and drew up a will due to her terminal illness.

The 19 yeal old beneficiary (20 next month), is a responsible young man and is not after his mother's estate in monetary form. The bulk of the $15,000 he received via EPTL 5-3.1 was spent on legal fees to this point. He is only seeking enough funds to secure a place to live, along with his mother's vehicle, as his own pesonal vehicle has been confiscated by the Exec, and its whereabouts are unknown because it was registered in his deceased mothers name due to his age and insurance costs in NY. He is a NYS Certified EMT and is employed, but technically and legally homeless. I personally don't know how he has managed to emotionally get through the loss of his mother along with losing everything else he has known in his life (home and contents, dog, personal belongings, car, etc.).

This actions of the Executrix are truly immoral, but within legal limits. Judge denied removal of Executorship, but that was prior to the confiscation of Child Support funds (a separate issue).

The beneficiary is seeking removal of the executrix. He would like a court appointed person (or anyone else), to handle the remainder of the estates fiduciary responsibility, if possible, because Estate funds are being un-necessarily squandered by Executrix (and appears to be intentional).

I know in NY it is difficult to remove an Executor, but the circumstances are just plain wrong and I'm hoping there is a way the situation can be resolved, as the will is very cut & dry and clearly states the deceased wishes regarding her son.

Because the legal fees add up quickly and it is difficult to find a Probate attorney to work on contingency, I am helping the beneficiary in any way I can, as not only has he lost his mother (just 5 months ago), but due to his age, he is unfamiliar with how the law works and does not understand the legal process nor the actions of his estranged aunt.

I thank you for your reply and any further comments you may have on this terrible situation.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
All he has to do is sit back and wait to receive a check.

What other evidence of inappropriate activity is there by the executor?
 

Fivefootsix

Junior Member
The story is so bazaar, but here are a few incidents...

Just weeks after my friends passing, the exec changed the locks on the home where my friend and her son lived, not allowing him to return to his home (of 9 years) for anything.
Police were called...and did nothing. The Exec proceeded to take the dog (family pet of my friend and her son) away and give it to another estranged family member. The family member that was harboring the dog, called the Dogs Breeder and asked him to add their name to the Bill of Sale of the dog so she could re-register it in her name. The Breeder had no idea what was going on, so he "doctored" the bill of sale as he believed whatever story was told to him. My friend purchased the dog as a 6 week old puppy and had it for almost 2 years. It was their family pet.

The Exec removed the license plates off the deceased car and her sons car, preventing the son to have transportation to work as well as getting to school full-time.

The deceased was receiving child support checks for her son (age 19) on a weekly basis. The Exec put in a change of address, and both the deceased mail and her sons mail were being forwarded to the Exec's address (including CS checks via Family Court).
The Exec called CS and confirmed the change of address, but did not inform them of my friends passing. The checks were sent to the Exec's home and were cashed by her.
It is still unknown what the Exec has done with three months of CS funds (not an estate issue).

The car belonging to the deceased has been re-titled and via EPTL 5-3.1 now belongs to the deceased son. The duplicate title and letters of testimentary have been received by the son along with necessary DMV paperwork. The car was moved to a storage location some distance away on the same day the deceased house went to closing (early March 08). In order to obtain the car, the son only needed to provide proof of insurance, registration and license plated to drive it away from the storage facility.
Upon making a call to the facility to arrange picking up the car, we were informed that there were storage fees that added up to over $5,000.00 because they claim the car had been stored since early January. It was also stated that the car was not in running condition and "buried" behind numerous other cars, so the son could not obtain the car.
There is much documented proof that the car was still at the deceased home on the day of the closing (early March), but, again, it appears papers were "doctored" showing the car has been in storage for 3 months. This issue is currently being addressed, but it will no doubt take much time to resolve.

The deceased will clearly stipulates that her son be taken care of in the form of health, education and welfare until he reaches age 21. Thus far, he has received no funds from the estate and remains homeless with no transportation. It is common knowledge that he had purchased his own vehicle when he was first licensed, but because the deceased put his car on her policy, it became part of the estate, and is currently not accounted for.

I'm somewhat aware of how the Probate process works, and I know the Exec is walking a fine line between legal and immoral. Soon after my friends passing, the Exec left a recorded message on my phone stating that she would in fact spend every red cent of her sisters estate to fight the beneficiary so he would be left with nothing. So far, it appears she is succeeding. There are still a few months remaining until an accounting must be produced, but that doesn't help the homeless beneficiary right now.

It amazes me how some people behave towards their own flesh & blood, even though the family in question was estranged.
We're talking about a 19 year old that lost his mother (his rock in life), and has since been stripped of everything he ever knew during his life with her.

Where's the justice?
 

averagecitizen

Junior Member
Fraud?

You said "Soon after my friends passing, the Exec left a recorded message on my phone stating that she would in fact spend every red cent of her sisters estate to fight the beneficiary so he would be left with nothing. " Did you keep that recording? I'm absolutely not a legal expert, but maybe something can be done to the Exec under criminal statutes for acting with intent to defraud the beneficiary of his inheritance.
 

Fivefootsix

Junior Member
Yes, I have the recording and also gave a deposition on it that was presented to a Judge.
Sadly, the claims were denied, but that was before the child support and doctorerd document issues were known, so I'm hoping it will be re-submitted.

Once an accouting is done, the truth will come out, but the wheels of justice turn so slowly in the meantime, and it doesn't put a stable roof over the kid's head whie we wait.

Life (and death) can be so unfair.

Thanks.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
What a shame that mother did not make a better choice of executor.

(1) Does the will name an alternate or successor executor in case the current one could not fulfill the duties?

(2) Does the will specifically instruct that the home be sold or is this just something that the executor decided on her own?

(3) What attorney services has the son's attorney provided to qualify for such a large retainer fee? Has he even attended any of the probate court hearings? New York attorneys are notorious money grubbers!! It was unwise (but certainly understandable) for your friend's son to have spent most of the $15,000 on legal fees when he should have been using it to live on.

He needs to be asking his attorney the following questions:

(A) Can I file charges against the executor for theft/misappropriation by going to the district attorney or county prosecutor's office to file an official complaint against the executrix, or should we let the child support office attorneys file the complaint?

After charges are filed, the district attorney or prosecutor will be able to get a copy of the front and back of the checks from the bank or agency to have documented proof to bring against executor, but it will most likely be a separate lawsuit outside of probate proceedings.

(B) Can we ask the court to require that an executor's bond be purchased to protect the financial interest of the beneficiary from theft by the executor?

(C) Can we ask the probate court for partial distribution to beneficiary from proceeds of the home sale/estate account on an emergency basis because money is needed for living expenses?

He also needs to be asking how he can select/find an alternate trustee (such as the trust department of a bank or a trusted attorney or family member).

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

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