very slow lawyer

[sar48]

i live in indiana in a small town. there are 9 sisters and brothers waiting for our lawyer to finish up our mother's estate. she died aug. 1999. the lawyer says there is no problem except he just needs to get off his lazy butt and finish it out. the same office, different lawyer, did my husband's mother's estate when she passed away june 1998. that took almost 2 1/2 years. not a big estate and there were 5 kids. the reason i mention this is because the office called wanting my husband's ssn for his mother's estate in march. i asked why since they finally finished it up early last year. they said for tax purposes. after waiting for 2 estates to be finished in unreasonable time, i told the office that i didn't have time to look up the number and i'd have my husband contact them. i told them that he works during their office hours so i didn't know how long it would be before he could get the info to them. of course, i knew the ssn, but i thought i'd let them wait awhile. after about 4 calls to me from them, i told them that they had the ssn at the start. they said they lost it. i even told them that they do the taxes for my husband's boss because i figured they wouldn't even think of that. back to my mom's estate---now they say it is my fault because i refused to give them my husband's ssn and that is the hold-up on my mom's. my sister, one of the administrators, told them that my husband has nothing to do with our mother's estate. i think i live in mayberry! so my question is......is there a time limit for a lawyer to finish up an estate that has no problems? the papers he gave all 9 of us says that it would be finished in may 2000.

 

[ALawyer]

I'm sorry but as you were being passive-aggressive with the other lawyer I won't try to assist.

BUT keep on calling him and asking, or ask the local bar association.

 

[sar48]

passive-aggressive? i guess i call myself rudely polite in regards to my action towards the lawyer's request. when there is no reason for this estate being so slow since there was a will and was put in probate asap, and the lawyer says the only reason is because he needed to get off his lazy butt, and now because i refused to give a ssn for someone who has nothing to do with the estate....i feel i was justified in not giving the ssn. the lawyer took his fees off the top at the start of probate. i guess i get a little upset when my parents lived their lives working hard, raising 9 children, paying their bills, and believing that when they died that things were in order. my sisters and brothers live our lives in much the same way. raising our own children and finding the time to quietly help others who come into our lives. am i bragging? i proudly say yes. i am always reminded of the king who wore no clothes and no one would say anything because he was the king. and no one is supposed to say anything negative to the king. so you are saying that if i had complied with the request for the ssn that you would have had an answer for me? the lawyer we have is one of the nicest people in this town. a friend to all. but we don't need a friend. we needed a competent lawyer. fire him? he's already been paid. usually a person isn't paid till the job is done.

 

[advisor10]

MAY 24 2001

DEAR SAR48:

I do sympathize with your situation--it's very unfair the way you are being treated by an uncaring professional.

Look in the Yellow Pages or contact any local attorney to get the phone number and address of the local or county bar association. Call them to inquire about how you can file an official complaint. After their ethics committee finds out all the factors in your situation (his comment about getting off his lazy butt, the fact that he has already been paid for his services, the lack of furnishing a specific reason for the delay, no explanation about why he asked for the Social Security Number, the fact that he promised to be finished in May 2000), then they will reprimand him and this may be what is needed for him to spur action on your case and at least keep you informed about the status of your probate case. If possible you need to make your complaint in written form so that they can actually do something about it, instead of brushing it off (which they might do if it's only a phone call).

You made a small mistake by not furnishing the Social Security Number, but in your defense it was the right thing to do then, because it let them know that you were dissatisfied with the service you were receiving from them. There could have been a legitimate reason that they needed the number (your husband may possibly be a beneficiary of something from the estate and they may have needed to report it for tax purposes), but even if they did need it they should have at least explained the reason that they needed that information, and you still need to pin them down to give them the specific reason that they need his number. I somehow get the idea that this was just something they thought of, off the top of their head, just to have something to say to stall. They also need to give you a specific reason in writing as to what is the reason that the estate is not yet closed or at least give you some guidelines as to what still needs to be done to complete the estate, and if possible give you a copy of some type of backup documentation that would verify his reasons for the delay.

Be nice and go ahead and furnish them with the Social Security Number so that they can't use the excuse that you are the reason for the delay.

What is the estimated value of this estate?
Who is the executor of the estate?

There is not necessarily a time limit for finishing up an estate (because tax forms or transfer of real estate title or other business can sometimes take a few months to handle properly), but there is absolutely no justifiable reason for this estate to be open after 2.5 years!

If possible, get 1 or 2 of your other brothers/sisters to contact this attorney to find out what is going on, so that it doesn't seem as if you are the only one who is complaining about the delay.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

 

[sar48]

thank you for your reply. the only complaint i have made was on the phone when they wanted the ssn. one sister and one brother are the administrators. my sister lives in las vegas and has placed calls many times during this time, just to be told the lawyer is too busy, is on the golf course, or just left. he has never returned a call to her. his secretary did apologize to me a few days after the episode of the lawyer stating it was my fault that the estate was held up cause i wouldn't give the ssn. she stated that they were upset because we 9 kids were tired of the "hurry up and wait" game. again thank you for replying. i think we shall continue with the "game" until one of us 9 run into the judge of the county.