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Executor conflict??

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dragonrider2008

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

Greetings all. TY for taking my question. My mother-in-law recently passed away while waiting to receive funds as a beneficiary of a relatives estate. The case has been held up due to the following reason, and hence my question. My wife and her brother are now the beneficiaries of her portion.

Anyway, there are 2 co-executors. One of them is married. Both the executor and his wife are beneficiaries. In the estate, the deceased left a bankbook for each of the beneficiaries, in addition to the rest of the estate to be divided. The value of each bankbook is approximately 35K. There are 12 beneficiaries in all. Here is the issue:

The wife of the executor claims, in addition to the bankbook she received, that she is the rightfull beneficiary of an additional bankbook that has her name on it, in addition to the name of the deceased. It should be mentioned that all the other bankbooks were in the name of the beneficiaries only. According to many of the relatives, and the caretaker of the deceased (who also received a small sum in the form of a check), the purpose of the bankbook was so that if the deceased was unable to take out money to pay her bills, then the wife of the executor would do it for her. The bankbook lists both names on it... the wife and the deceased. Because the wife is fighting this, the estate has been held up in court now for almost 2 years... seems crazy to me. Anyway... is there a conflict here? Is there a conflict of interest between the executor and his wife? Three beneficiaries have now died since the deceased did. My wife and her brother have retained an attorney now, both to settle the mother's estate and to ensure that they will receive their mothers share. There is no language in the will stating that the death of a beneficiary reverts their portion of the estate back to the estate.

Should my wife's lawyer do anything more? He has already asked the attorney for the estate for a full accounting.

Sorry for the length... and thanks again.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


anteater

Senior Member
Because the wife is fighting this, the estate has been held up in court now for almost 2 years... seems crazy to me. Anyway... is there a conflict here? Is there a conflict of interest between the executor and his wife?
Well, if it is tied up in court, that indicates that the court will be making the decision whether it was a joint account or a convenience account. So, it probably does not make a real difference that one of the executors and one of the battlers are man and wife. When the court rules, the co-executor doesn't have much say in the matter.

My wife and her brother have retained an attorney now, both to settle the mother's estate and to ensure that they will receive their mothers share.....

Should my wife's lawyer do anything more? He has already asked the attorney for the estate for a full accounting.
Other than to suggest that the co-executors of MIL's relative's estate might ask the court to make a preliminary distribution while the Battle of the Bankbook plays itself out, I don't think that there is much more that your wife's attorney could do.
 

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