Improper handling of estate

[DFralish]

My mother died Dec 12 1999 in Georgia her state of residence. My brother in Florida and I in Oklahoma were named as executor and coexecutor respectively. The estate attorney in Georgia told my brother that coexecutor means that I take on the role of executor in contingency. My brother has mishandled the estate from the beginning, allowing bills to go unpaid, selling items without approval from my sisters and I (all named in the will as equal shares, with the exception of my oldest sister who also got mothers car), and now withholding proceeds because he is angry that we questioned him. The estate attorney also told him recently that he can keep up to 5% of the estate for handling the estate. We, my sisters and I are now at odds with my brother and he absolutely refuses to speak to two of us. I requested copies of all records and he refuses. What are our options, if any?

Distraught

[This message has been edited by DFralish (edited October 24, 2000).]

 

[ALawyer]

Administration of an estate is NOT a democracy. And in this case it sounds as if you were only a Successor Executor, NOT a Co-Executor.

The executor named in the Will, once authorized by the court to act, has the power and duty to handle the estate, gather the property, pay debts and taxes, and then distribute the assets or money per the Will. It is often a thankless and difficult task. And most people serving as Executor don't like to be questioned or challanged or second guessed. In a family the dynamics can get even worse.

That's what it sounds like has happened.

The executor is entitled to a fee for his or her or its services. I do not know what GA law says about the amount, but 5% sometimes may be reasonable. And if it means he gets more, that's because he did the work.

You could probably ask for a "formal accounting" or get a lawyer to look into the matter for you in the locale where the estate is being handled.

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