Oklahoma, administrator ripping off estate, stonewalling heirs

Hi. In her will, my mother left her estate to her 3 children and named our uncle executor. One of us 3 heirs has been somewhat criminal for many years, also mom's fav, the youngest, very greedy, the long-time recipient of riches bestowed on her by mom, until mom died leaving what was left to all 3 of us equally.

This criminalistic sibling right away accused the executor of ripping off the estate and the other sibs (my brother and me) of removing valuable items from our mother’s house. She hired a lawyer, who challenged every effort of the executor to do his job, so that nothing could be done—even after a year went by, the will was still up in the air, my mother's house, filled with valuables, just sitting there, unlived in, neglected, the roof starting to fall in one area from hail damage. The executor finally threw in the towel. The greedy sib who'd caused all the trouble went to court with a new lawyer (not the same lawyer who'd helped her prevent the will from being probated by various delay tactics—he dumped her in the end, probably for non payment), and got herself appointed representative of the estate. The way she kept us other 2 sibs from blocking her effort was, she made friends with us, explained how she was about to lose her house and was in a hurry to get this all squared away, and promised all the ways she was going to dispose of the valuable contents to buyers she knows real well, and divvy up the proceeds, then put the house on the market ASAP, so this could finally be over. Instead, the minute she got in control of the estate, making her new lawyer now the estate lawyer, she emptied the house of contents without a word to us, and the empty house is listed (found it online) for sale, $139,000, an impossible price in today's horrible housing market.

The estate lawyer redirects my calls and my brother's to an answer machine, and does not return our calls. The greedy sib who’s now in control stonewalls us completely, except for a sneering email suggesting we are “desperate for money" (we aren’t) and advising us not to “put any of our eggs in the estate basket.”

My brother and I did not know the extent of her criminality when we broke down and finally let her have control in hopes of bringing this to some kind of an end. After all, she is famously unscrupulous but not in jail, and she greatly values her imagined “community standing”, hopes to turn the huge house our mother bought for her into a bed and breakfast so she can quit working as an LPN, taking orders from girls younger than her daughters. Still, when she applied to nursing school (RN), she was not allowed in the program, could not find a single friend who would vouch for her character, because she's an alcoholic and a crook, apparently better known to her community than to my brother and me. Honestly, we didn't know she was really truly a crook. We just thought she was shameless and greedy, and knew she’d never stop until she was executor. We did not think she COULD steal the contents of the house simply by becoming executor of the will in our uncle's place. But she HAS.

How can my brother and I protect ourselves from our sibling who has removed the contents of the house and put the house up for sale and will not respond to queries or keep her promise to send regular updates? And an estate lawyer who will not speak to us, even though we were silent for 8+ months, bothering no one? She had sent us, on January 20, 2010, a curt promise that the expected time frame for being done with all this, now that she was in control,was 3-6 months. Then, nothing. My brother and I each asked both her and the estate attorney for an accounting, especially regarding contents of the house and the money that remained, which is also not accounted for. We are ignored. We only learned the house was on the market, has been since June 14, 2010, by Googling the address in Yukon, Oklahoma.

Asking here for advice is a first step. My brother and I plan to do plenty about this. Thanks for any reply you guys can give me.

Oh yes, our sister, the greedy sib, is no longer losing her house, but making additions and putting fountains in the yard. (?????) She is a hospital LPN, her husband an alcoholic building contractor whose own relatives refuse to hire him for work he fails to do (these unkind remarks all come from my sister’s own mouth at different times in the past, I am not ad libbing to insult her).

Lastly, almost forgot: while my mother’s estate is in Canadian County, Oklahoma, my sister the “executrix” is in MacDonald County, MO, and my brother and I live in Arkansas (neighboring counties of each other). So it’s a handy 3-state heist for her. She has been up in front of judges wearing handcuffs in the past. She has never NOT been in deep money trouble. No amount of largesse and financial help ever bails her out for long. She’s a compulsive criminal, grandiose, pitiless toward people and animals, and oh yes, and she has told me that “angels” are protecting her from any consequences, plus, she channels the spirits of our dead parents, who are telling her what moves they want her to make. When my brother landed in the hospital deathly ill a year ago, my sister emailed me that her guardian angels had done that to him.

What is a 239 form? My sister the executrix said it gave her authority to sell assets. I can't find it by Googling.

Sorry, I know this is convoluted, hope somebody can respond (and that the news will not be too bad).



OKLAHOMA

1. The attorney is retained by and works for the personal representative.
2. Do not forget #1.
3. You two need an attorney in Canadian County, Oklahoma.. now.
4. A 239 form probably refers to Section 239 of the OK probate code.

A. After the appointment of the personal representative, and, provided that a determination of the identities of the heirs, devisees and legatees of the decedent has been made pursuant to the provisions of Section 240 of this title, and upon the filing of a petition or application, the petition to be accompanied by acknowledged, written consents by all heirs, devisees and legatees, other than contingent devisees and legatees, and persons authorized to act on behalf of any heir, devisee or legatee under any legal disability, the court may enter an order:

1. Authorizing the personal representative to sell, grant, lease, mortgage or encumber any real or personal property including mineral interests, and to execute and issue deeds, leases, bills of sale, notes, mortgages, easements and other documents of conveyance, without further judicial authorization or a return of sale or confirmation of such sale or transaction. Any sale or transaction so authorized shall pass title to the purchaser without being confirmed by the court, notwithstanding any statutory provision to the contrary; or

2. Waiving the filing of any accounting specified in the consents of the persons herein named, or waiving the necessity for presentation to the court for approval of any such accounting.

B. Waivers or consents may be withdrawn at any time and thereafter all acts shall be in accordance with regular statutory procedures. A withdrawal of a waiver or consent shall be effected by filing a written statement of withdrawal with the court clerk and by serving a certified copy on the personal representative or the attorney for the personal representative by certified mail.

C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the petition or application is filed after three (3) months from the date of admission of the will to probate, and no appeal of the admission of the will is pending nor has any contest to admission of the will to probate been filed after admission of the will to probate, and if the will contains a residuary disposition clause, then the consents of heirs who are neither devisees or legatees shall not be required.

Click to expand...

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=460299

Thank you, Anteater, this looks like very bad news indeed, but not hopeless, quite. Appreciate this answer and the speed of its arrival.

My uncle could have done what my sister has done, and saved the day as my mother intended, as he promised her in life. I will always wonder why he didn't.

Explain exactly how someone can prevent a will from being probated.

Are there any other assets in the estate besides the house?

Your attorney will also need to find out if the greedy sibling had been granted power of attorney before the decedent died or whether anyone was named as a co-owner or beneficiary of any bank accounts.

I don't know how anyone can prevent a will from being probated. I was pretty angry at my uncle for seeming to not be doing anything, though he kept insisting he was doing all he could. He and the estate lawyer he was using kept saying we have to wait, that it takes time. When court dates came up, the greedy sib's lawyer was there to raise objections and make accusations against everyone, including saying that gifts to my brother and me from our mother belonged in the inventory of the house contents, but that gifts from our mother to HER were gifts, therefore hers. As a result, the judge kept making NO RULING and kept setting a new date further down the road. My uncle kept insisting that we heirs must get together and divide up the contents of the house, but my sister sent her lawyer to file court actions preventing us from doing that, and refusing to participate in a divvy-up session, just coming up with continual accusations against my uncle and my brother and me, acting deaf to all else. She also objected to the “summary” probate, the valuing of the estate at $150,000, and has gotten it bumped up to a higher court at a value of $195,000.

I was constantly mad at my uncle and the lawyer and the judge that this thing wasn’t just moving on forward. I kept being told it doesn't work that way, things don't happen fast, it take years sometimes. I used to ask the same question: "Tell me how someone can prevent a will from being probated." Eyes would roll at my refusal to be realistic.

Yes, there are other assets in the estate besides the house. There's a vehicle in the garage, two high quality firearms in the house, a slew of antiques, collectibles, heavy silver pieces, and fine collectible items. These items have all disappeared. An empty house sits for sale, with thumbnails to look at on the real estate websites online, all photos of empty rooms.

No, the greedy sib was never given power of attorney. Our mother did not give her power of anything, because she's known to be a money sieve, greedy, dishonest and such a troublemaker that nobody would be treated fairly if she had an ounce of say-so. Our mother made my uncle executor, not my sister. I think she even gave him power of attorney before she died. He blew it, I can't explain it. It's a comedy, all right. Every time my sister pulled another delaying stunt, my uncle had a hissy, accusing the 3 of us of bickering, when it was just the one heir making misery for us all. He forever refused to simply exercise the power my mother gave him. He cringed in fear that the greedy sib was going to sue him. He caused over a year of delay with his fear of her. He said he’d decided to demand a $9000 fee from the estate unless all 3 of us gave him letters promising to hold him harmless. My brother and I gave him our letters to that effect as fast as he could get the words of his demand out of his mouth. I kept begging him to move. He never moved. We even all 3 signed a 239 giving him leave to auction off the contents of the house. He never did it. He resigned, and the greedy sib was there to grab the reins. My brother and I could not stop her except by lawyering up. We feared it would be money down the drain, so we trusted her to take the reins, because she made friends with us and made glowing promises. We wanted it to finally be over. Instead, she has robbed us of the entire contents of the house, and is lying. Everything she says and has gone ahead and DONE contradicts what my brother taped the estate lawyer saying has been done and CAN legally be done.

The current estate lawyer, hired by the greedy sib, gave my brother a phone conference last week, which my brother taped with his permission. This estate lawyer said the current delay is all his fault because his life hasn't been going well, things have "come up" that kept our simple case on his back burner. He said the house and contents were just sitting out there unprocessed, should have been processed many long months ago, but that he would mail me and my brother a 239 form which the greedy sib has already signed, so this could start moving along. He said it would be over in just a jiffy after that. He claimed that before anything was done, like putting the house up for sale or disposing of the contents, my brother and I would be given 20 days notice to object to any of the proposed details, like price. Well, we found out the house has actually been on the market for 73 days, and the contents are GONE, including the vehicle apparently, or at any rate unaccounted for, and the executrix is no longer in dire straits money-wise the way she was when she first became the administrator. She’s suddenly wallowing in financial security.

My brother and I never signed a 239 for anything to be disposed of by her. The current estate lawyer says one thing, her actions say the opposite. The 239 forms still have not been sent, but the greedy sib is asking an impossibly high price for the house, without even telling us it was put up for sale.

The greedy sib is our mother's “apprentice” when it comes to dealing in high quality silver and antiques and collectibles. They had a real relationship. She knows who to sell these items to for top dollar, and has done so. My brother and I wouldn't know what to do with such items except hold an auction.

For my brother and I to get a lawyer, we’d need between $2500 and $4500 just for a retainer, wouldn’t we?

C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the petition or application is filed after three (3) months from the date of admission of the will to probate, and no appeal of the admission of the will is pending nor has any contest to admission of the will to probate been filed after admission of the will to probate, and if the will contains a residuary disposition clause, then the consents of heirs who are neither devisees or legatees shall not be required.


Can anyone tell me what that means?

Dandy Don said:

Explain exactly how someone can prevent a will from being probated.

Are there any other assets in the estate besides the house?

Your attorney will also need to find out if the greedy sibling had been granted power of attorney before the decedent died or whether anyone was named as a co-owner or beneficiary of any bank accounts.

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NO. No one was ever named "co-owner" of bank accounts or of anything. The will is straightforward. My mother left everything she owns to her three children to be divided equally among them. Period. My uncle was named executor, no one else. He resigned under pressure from one of 3 heirs.

The will HAS gone to probate, now, and very fast, with the greedy sib as administrator. It never went to probate during my uncle's tenure as personal representative,even after (I think) a year. We wasted time in the wrong court, for one thing. It was amazing, all of it.

I guess a greedy person's guardian angels don't HAVE to come from "up there," do they?

Carly Corday said:

The will HAS gone to probate, now, and very fast, with the greedy sib as administrator. It never went to probate during my uncle's tenure as personal representative,even after (I think) a year. We wasted time in the wrong court, for one thing. It was amazing, all of it.

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After all that you have stated previously, this makes no sense. Your uncle was not the personal representative unless the will was probated and he was appointed by the court.

Alright, you goofed when you allowed your sister to become administrator. You can either continue and hope that things actually turn fine or you can "lawyer up." It is your decision.

C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the petition or application is filed after three (3) months from the date of admission of the will to probate, and no appeal of the admission of the will is pending nor has any contest to admission of the will to probate been filed after admission of the will to probate, and if the will contains a residuary disposition clause, then the consents of heirs who are neither devisees or legatees shall not be required.

Can anyone tell me what that means?

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You need to understand the difference between an heir and a legatee/devisee. As a child of your mother, you are her heir. But, if your mother's will stated, "I leave everything to Bobbi Jo and nothing to Carly," then you would not be a legatee or devisee. Heirs lose their ability to object 3 months after admission of the will to probate.

I agree, and thank you very much for the explanation of part C. Yes, we goofed, I knew it would have to come down to that, but hoped for better.

Yeah, I don't think my uncle got himself APPOINTED as executor, that he thought he was executor because he was named that in the will, and so did we all. I agree it makes no sense. I ask and asked, and nobody seemed able to understand what I was trying to ask.

My uncle put in a request with the court NOT to be executor, under pressure, in the end. I have an image of that document from the courthouse web site. All along, he later revealed, the estate lawyer had not been doing the job we were paying him to do. (Of course, we got no refund.) So that estate lawyer, in the end, put in a request with the court to be removed as estate lawyer. And the greedy sib, her latest lawyer at her side, made her bid to be appointed administrator. It was done. Gavel slam. I think it landed on my head. I can't explain any of it. Nobody I ask, including the various foolish other parties involved, even understands my question.

Thank you, Anteater. I hope this doesn't sound like "legal munchausens" on my part. Everything I've said here is what I saw and was told to be true. I'm not a blonde, but my uncle treated me as if I were. I have never understood. I was dismissed as a thickhead.

If your sister acted the way you describe, I don't know that I would be too hard on your uncle. If he decided that the nonsense wasn't worth the ulcer and raised blood pressure (even if he were to take compensation), I can't say that I would blame him for withdrawing.