Original Will

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My mother died in March 2008. I have a copy of her will which appointed me as her personal rep. My uncooperative brother got hold of the original will from the lawyer who prepared it years ago and refuses to turn it over to me in order to administer our mother's estate. What is my recourse?

lipepe said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My mother died in March 2008. I have a copy of her will which appointed me as her personal rep. My uncooperative brother got hold of the original will from the lawyer who prepared it years ago and refuses to turn it over to me in order to administer our mother's estate. What is my recourse?

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Has anyone opened probate?

If not you can do it and ask to be appointed as executor/personal representative.
Show your attorney the copy of the will you have and tell him/her what your brother has done. The court can compel him to bring forward the original of the will.

If probate has been opened, speak to an attorney about protesting this in court.

Thanks, Farfella, for your advice. I did hire a lawyer who opened the probate (estate) and wrote a letter to my uncooperative brother. After three months went by and many, many calls to her without her returning any of my calls--the exact behavior as my brother which I don't need--I terminated her services. I am trying to do whatever I have to do and go as far as I can on my own. As a retiree, I have time on my hand. The courthouse is only five minutes away, so this DIY might be a good learning experience for me.

lipepe said:

Thanks, Farfella, for your advice. I did hire a lawyer who opened the probate (estate) and wrote a letter to my uncooperative brother. After three months went by and many, many calls to her without her returning any of my calls--the exact behavior as my brother which I don't need--I terminated her services. I am trying to do whatever I have to do and go as far as I can on my own. As a retiree, I have time on my hand. The courthouse is only five minutes away, so this DIY might be a good learning experience for me.

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Ok, so right now you are going it alone. It'm always amazed when an attorney just does not communicate with their clients. I've had a couple do that to me. Droping that one was of course your only alternative.

Have you been appointed the presonal representaive? If not you will need to do that as your first step. You cannot do much of anything without that.

You also might want to go to the library or book store. I have seen some good books instructing people about how to probate an estate. There's a lot of info online too.

Are you aware of what the MD laws are for intestate division of an estate? Here a link I found that talks about it.

Maryland Estate Planning | Intestacy | Simultaneous Death

Other than the will appointing you as executor, does the will differ from the law in the way the property is left to the heirs. If it does not, you might just want to drop the fight about the will and go forward with the estate being intestate. It will take away this power trip your brother is on. If the will cannot be probated, than this is the path you will have to take.

Otherwise, you might want to get a court hearing and have your brother and the attorney subpoenaed. See if the attorney will testify that yep there is a will, yep your copy valid, and yep he gave it original to your brother.
Than let your brother tell the judge why he will not turn it over. Maybe your brother destroyed the original, who knows.

If the attorney and your brother refuse to show… after being told what the hearing is for, ask the judge to determine that the copy you have is a valid will. Does your copy include the signatures of the deceased and witnesses?

Thanks so much for the various alternatives, Farfalla (sorry for the earlier misspelt name). I will think about them and then decide which option to take. I will keep you and the other readers informed.