Post-probate problems

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin.

Our family is having one heck of a time with my father's estate administrator. How do we re-open the case in Probate Court? Is it as simple as filing a Motion? What are some forms we may have to use?

Thanks for any suggestions you have to offer.

Yes, you would file a motion with the court.

But, "...re-open the case.." implies that the estate was settled, distributions made, and the court released the administrator from his/her responsibilities. What kind of problems are you having with the administrator?

What you mean by "a heck of a time"? Exactly what difficulties are you encountering?

anteater said:

Yes, you would file a motion with the court.

But, "...re-open the case.." implies that the estate was settled, distributions made, and the court released the administrator from his/her responsibilities. What kind of problems are you having with the administrator?

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This is where WE get confused!

The administrator is our grandfather, and my three sisters and I are the beneficiaries. Apparently, the case was closed in December, 2007, which none of us were aware of, and our grandfather now owns the home. We were told the estate wouldn't be finished and everyone wouldn't get their inheritance until the sale of our father's house.

Things were going smoothly until it came time to put the house on the market, and this is when we discovered the above information. We've all (us children and our grandfather) been making the decisions together up until this point - decisions even as small as what type of hardware to install. Now we're facing the biggest financial decision, listing the house with a Realtor. After asking simple information on how much the Realtor's commission will be, our grandfather has put a wall up and is no longer informing us of what is happening with the house. We feel like we've been blindsided, and as beneficiaries, we should have a say in how to list the house and which listing agent to use, or if we even want to use one at all.

Any help would be appreciated. My sisters and I are young adults all under the age of 24, and we've never been in this kind of situation before. Is there some direction we could get as far as the Motion to re-open the case, or if we can still file some sort of will contest? We can't afford to retain an attorney at this point, so any jumping off point would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your time.

The administrator is our grandfather, and my three sisters and I are the beneficiaries. Apparently, the case was closed in December, 2007, which none of us were aware of, and our grandfather now owns the home. We were told the estate wouldn't be finished and everyone wouldn't get their inheritance until the sale of our father's house.

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There is a lot in that paragraph that does not add up:

1) Each state is different, but normally either the interested parties are required to "sign off" on the distribution of the estate and/or the administrator petitions the court to close the estate, with notice to the beneficiaries.

2) That you and your sisters are the beneficiaries, but grandfather now owns the house...?????

3) How do you know that the probate case is closed? Have any of you been to the court and looked at the case file?

4) Who was it that was doing the telling?

Did your father have a will? Or was this an intestate proceeding?

anteater said:

There is a lot in that paragraph that does not add up:

1) Each state is different, but normally either the interested parties are required to "sign off" on the distribution of the estate and/or the administrator petitions the court to close the estate, with notice to the beneficiaries.

-- We signed off on the distribution of the estate

2) That you and your sisters are the beneficiaries, but grandfather now owns the house...?????

-- It was stated in the will that Grandpa was to recieve everything, and he would distribute it all equally to us. We have many documents in writing of what we are each to recieve. We only signed our lives away because we were all promised equal say in this, but the tables have turned.

3) How do you know that the probate case is closed? Have any of you been to the court and looked at the case file?

-- In Wisconsin, you can look up all court case files. I'll also be requesting a copy of the case file.

4) Who was it that was doing the telling?

-- I'm not sure what you're referring to, but it was probably our grandfather who told us.

Did your father have a will? Or was this an intestate proceeding?

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-- Dad had a will, I've requested a copy from the attorney and have yet to recieve it.

Without a thorough review of the will and all the other documents, I don't think that anybody can give you good advice about what recourse you have. With what you say, I am not certain if any recourse you and the sisters have is back in probate court. I know that you said that you can't afford an attorney. But you and your sisters really need to scrape together a couple hundred bucks and consult an attorney. One of you should go to the probate court and get a copy of the will and the rest of the file - don't wait for the estate attorney. Then, begin looking for probate/estate attorneys. If you have all your documents together, you may be able to get a free initial consultation or two.

That sounds like a very oddly-worded will. Generally, you can't make a bequest to someone and then try to stick a bunch of conditions on what they are to do with the property subsequently.

["We were told..." Remember back in grammar classes when the teacher said to avoid the passive voice? Knowing who exactly said what to whom allows responders to better understand the situation.]

Thanks you very much for your help, I'm going to look for a probate attorney who could possibly give us a free consultation like you said.

Sorry for the bad grammar

shechrissy said:

Thanks you very much for your help, I'm going to look for a probate attorney who could possibly give us a free consultation like you said.

Sorry for the bad grammar

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Go to the courthouse and pay for a complete copy of the probate file.

The lawyer you talk to will need that.

But, since the estate has already been closed, you may have waited too long.

seniorjudge said:

Go to the courthouse and pay for a complete copy of the probate file.

The lawyer you talk to will need that.

But, since the estate has already been closed, you may have waited too long.

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What are some circumstances in which a case can be reopened?

Please stop insisting that the case be "reopened"--that is not the correct phrase to use.

After you and your attorneys have looked at the probate file and exactly how the house is titled on the deed/title (whose names are on it for ownership, and whether title was correctly and legally transferred during the probate process), you can then decide which legal course to take, whether the legal heirs have the right to force a sale of the home or whether a suit needs to be filed in civil court to resolve any errors that grandfather may have made. Whether it will continue to be a probate matter has not yet been determined and may not even be appropriate. If the will has a provision in it mentioning he is entitled to a life estate, he has the right to live there for the rest of his life.

Please stop saying that you can not afford an attorney--you need to interview with at least 5 or 6 before finding one who can help you. Tell them what the value of the home is after it is sold and they will be willing to assist you. If you all work you can pool your funds to pay the fee--first consultation is usually free or very inexpensive, and even then you would be using this attorney's services in the beginning on a consultation basis only which should be a few hundred dollars. This is not a project you can do yourself--you need an attorney's expertise to examine the probate file to see exactly what happened and make a determination as to whether probate for the property was done correctly or not. So stop asking grandfather about selling the home and wait to see what the probate file tells you to see if you are legally authorized to be selling it. If it is determined you are legal owners/heirs, there may have to be some corrections done to the deed/title to reflect the names of the correct owners before the sale can go through.

Good luck--I'm hoping this will have a positive outcome for you!!

Do some online research yourself by checking the county property tax or real estate/assessor records to see whose name shows as owning or paying the property taxes for the house in question--is it your grandfather's name, the name of an estate or trust, or some other party's name?


DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])