4 1/2 years to settle estate?

[APlusJustin]

What is the name of your state? New York

My mother in law passed away in August of 1999. Her entire estate consisted of the sale of her house, the repayment of her two debts, and the remainder of the proceeds was to be split evenly between her three children. My brother-in-law was named executor (there was no will), and he went about hiring the lawyer. The lawyer told my brother-in-law that the normal fee was 1/3 of the estate, but he would do it for 1/4 of the estate and not charge a retainer. The sale of the house was completed in December of 1999, and the money went into an escrow account with the county...where is has been sitting for the last 4 1/2 years. I was able to find a log of activity on the case, and there were huge gaps between steps, one being over 900 days.

Q1: Was the lawyer legally wrong to take such a long time for such a simple estate?

Q2: Having signed the fee agreement for the lawyer, do we have any recourse based on his performance?

Q3: We did finally receive vouchers for the final disbursements of the estate. Can we sign the vouchers, get the money, and still bring a complaint against him? Or would we lose our right to recourse by signing the vouchers?

Q4: Does anybody know if his fee statement was misleading as far as 1/3 or 1/4 of the estate being usual and customary?


Thanks!

 

[Dandy Don]

Where or how did you find the log of activity?

It's difficult to make a competent and complete evaluation of your case since we don't have access to the most important documents.

(1) It may not have been legally wrong for him to take such a long time (YOU say it's a simple estate, but is it possible there was some complication with the real estate transaction that could have caused a delay), but it was certainly ethically wrong. Surely you have heard of lawyers deliberately drawing out proceedings/situations so they can continue to bill the estate for the "work" that they are doing, whether necessary or unnecessary. Does the log give a description of the work he says he was doing and billing for?

(2) If you kept a copy of the fee agreement you signed, you would need to examine the language of it (or have an attorney do it for you) to see if you are prevented from recourse against him or not.

(3) I'm not familiar with New York law, but under normal circumstances you should be able to sign the vouchers and get your money and still bring a complaint against him.

(4) The executor fee rate in New York is 5% of the first $100,000 of estate value, plus 4% of the next $200,000 in estate value and there are other percentages if the estate value goes over $300,000--certainly you have cause for a complaint with the state bar association for his overcharging such an exorbitant rate.

 

[APlusJustin]

Thanks for the reply!

I found the log on the county clerk's website - all cases in their system can be accessed by case number.

As far as I know, the only issue with the property was that, before my mother in law's death, there was a foreclosure in progress against the house. However, all that should have been cleared up upon the sale of the house in 12/99, right?

Re: 1) The lawyer isn't billing by time and material, only "25% of the net sum recovered." He had advised my brother-in-law that 1/3 was normal, and that he was doing him a favor by only charging 1/4. I'm wondering if he deliberately misled my brother-in-law..?

Re: 2) As far as my wife and I can remember, *we* didn't sign any fee agreement - only my brother-in-law did. (EDIT: My wife did sign an agreement a little over a year ago, but we do not have a copy.) However, in the letter we are supposed to send back with the vouchers, the last sentence reads, "Please sign below the bottom of this letter where indicated acknowledging the above." Would that constitute an acceptance of the fee agreement in such a way that we would no longer have recourse?

Re: 3) I hope so!

Re: 4) I've spoken to some other local attorneys, pretending to be looking for an attorney to handle an estate identical to my mother-in-law's, and recieved quotes ranging in the 2-4% range.

Also, what other info can I post that could help? I'd be willing to post the log of the case from the county clerk's website, minus identifying info, if that would be helpful.

 

[aztecs]

The way you describe it, sounds as if the lawyer was quoting your brother the customary fee for working on a "contingency" basis. This could be 1/3 of monies recovered. The lawyer would then not charge you anything up front (retainer you mentioned he said he wouldn't charge).

But this is a probate process, and the fees for lawyers are set by law in each state. As Dany Don mentioned.

If he is a probate attorney, and your brother was clear he was hiring him as the probate attorney for the estate, then he was lying his tail off about 1/3 being the "customary" fee.

You may want to check on the distinction. If he was hired as the probate attorney, he may be limited on what he can charge you.