• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

estate settling time frame

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

B

babacah

Guest
My wifes great Aunt passed 13 months ago, there was no contest of the will, however we were told that federal estate tax forms needed to be filed. What is a reasonable time frame for this to settle, it seems the executer(her lawyer) is dragging his feet and is very vauge when questioned, he simply states the Federal forms have note gone through. A follow up question, the executer has never told us the ammount of the estate, he did tell us it was over 1 million dollars and is split evenly 4 ways between her church, the library, my wife, and her sister. Since the church and library are charities, and the $675,000 exemption apllies, can I assume the estate value is over 1.35 million in order to be subject to the tax?(I assume my wife and sisters share must exceed $675,000) What rights does my wife have for information from the executer?
 


ALawyer

Senior Member
Executors have every motivation to be cautious and wait until FINAL approval by the IRS of all questions about valuation and until it confirms the absence of prior gifts, and until all the Probate Court actions are done with. First they are personally liable if the IRS comes to a different conclusion as to valuation or prior gifts. Second, it is always possible that claims of possible creditors will come in against the estate, even when not contested. For example a personal injury can come in from a neighbor who claims she injured him, or from the town that claimed she was a major toxic waste dumper, etc. If the Executor were to distribute money before the (death shortened) statute of limitations runs out, he or she may be personally liable. And, of course, sometimes delaying gives the Executor, or the attorneys, something to gain personally as they occasionally can charge more if it gets more complicated or takes longer to distribute.

As to how long it takes, it varies from locale to locale and case to case. It can be 4 months, or 18. It all depends, sometimes on how busy the office is, sometimes on the particular agent assigned, sometimes on the nature of the assets owned (for example cash is easier to value than real estate, sometimes on how aggressive the law firm and accounting firm were in the matter, and sometimes on the track record and reputation of the lawyer or accountant.

I would NOT jump to conclusions about the amount. While if the estate was tiny and everyone was confident that she had never made a gift of over $10,000 to any one person in her lifetime (which would have eaten away at the $675,000 lifetime exemption) the executor would probably not worry about the IRS issues, it does not necessarily mean there is over $1.3 million in the estate.

You might ask the executor, nicely, for a copy of the Will (it is probably on file in Probate Court and available to the public) and a copy of the 706 Federal Estate Tax filing. Or if you have some concerns, hire a lawyer to represent your interests (it should not cost too much), and the lawyer will ask for the 706.

Also ask the executor to release some money in advance of the final distribution -- particularly if there is a need for it. Sometimes they will release 10-50% as an advance.

[Edited by ALawyer on 01-17-2001 at 06:27 PM]
 
A

advisor10

Guest
(01-17-2001)

Just be patient and give the probate process time to be completed. This is not an unreasonable amount of time--there is much paperwork to be done--debts to be paid, title to personal property reviewed, etc. I don't think the executor is intentionally trying to be vague--it's just that he is in the position of not knowing exactly what the distribution will be until all debts and taxes have been paid. For this reason, you also cannot make any assumptions about the value of the estate (the executor may have mentioned the $1 million figure but he didn't specify whether that was before or after taxes).

You could politely ask the executor for a copy of the will just to see how he responds, but I would not do this if you think it might aggravate him. Your wife and her sister) are already in a VERY GOOD POSITION since they have been named as beneficiaries, and when the estate is finished and the checks are distributed, your wife and her sister will be notified by mail, so make sure that the executor has your wife's and her sister's address and phone number on file at his office. Your wife has the right to ask the executor for an estimated date of when he thinks the work will be completed, but please understand that sometimes an exact date can not be promised.

If you happen to know the name of the charity and the library that are also co-beneficiaries, then you could contact one of them to see if they have been paid yet.

Because it seems that significant amount of money is involved, I understand your anxiousness about wanting to know about the inheritance as soon as possible. Certainly, if the executor has any sympathy or concern for your feelings, then he will keep you informed at least by answering your letter or phone call.

When the will is filed at the county courthouse of the city where the great aunt died, you can freely examine that file and any other financial documents in it to see how the estate was handled--(taxes paid, bank accounts or CD's, funeral expenses, etc.). Most likely everything will be done properly, and then you can have a greater understanding of the amount of work involved.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]
 
B

babacah

Guest
Thank you very much for the responses. My main concern was that the Lawyer was acting properly within an accepted time frame, it certainly seems that he is. We have no pressing need for the money, we will wait for everything to be resloved. I will request a copy of the 706, that would remove the mystery around the size of the estate.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top