Appointment of Personal Representative

[rbotsford]

My father's estate is being probated. There was no will. First step is
my step-mother is wanting to be appointed Administrator. There is personal and real property from my father's farming business. My step-mother does not know anywhere's near as much as I know about the farming operation, so I believed I would be better qualified to be appointed to administrator, (I always farmed with father, some farm land owned in joint-tenancy with my father, and there is the active farm business right now that will need to be discontinued. there are crops planted that need to be harvested, grain on hand that needs to be sold, machinery that needs to be maintained and operated in order to harvest the remaining crop , which she is not capable to doing the actual physical labor. I was advised by my step mothers attorney, that the only grounds for her not being named administrator, is that I would have to show to the surrogate judge lack of mental capacity on her part, which I would not be able to do. So, should I agree to her be appointed or should I try to fight it??

 

[advisor10]

Get A Second Opinion

11-14-2000

You made a minor mistake in asking for an opinion from the attorney who also advises your stepmother. He is going to view the estate according to the stepmother's interest (since he has probably been hired by her) and may have been trying to steer you down the wrong path by giving inaccurate advice.

Have you seen any of the financial paperwork from the operation of the farm--what type of net income is it bringing in on a monthly basis, etc.? Would the sale of the property and equipment be enough for you and your stepmother to split after it was sold? You really need to consult with a local attorney who specializes in estate/probate matters to get a better idea of whether or not it would be worth it for you to be named administrator.

Please also give some consideration to offering your services to your stepmother on a free basis or come to an agreement of what you think your time should be compensated for, and offer to help her take care of matters on the farm and see what she thinks. It always helps to stay on the good side of someone whom you may have to later negotiate with to get your share of an estate, and she may welcome the assistance. If you can't assist with the physical chores, then recommend someone else who can.

Also, you need the attorney's opinion as to how strong your case is for being named administrator. I'm not an attorney but I think you have a very strong case for being named, and you might have to appear before the probate judge to state your case.

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