MrsMarbles
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NY
Our Mother passed away over two years ago. Father was already deceased. Two siblings lived in Mother's house, one taking care of her in her last years. Caretaker sibling had POA , and was paid for taking care of Mother. There was an accounting of our Mother's finances at the time of the POA, and then the caretaker sibling blew through more than $500k in the next couple of years. She refuses a financial accounting, as she did when our Mother was alive. Our Mother's lawyer simply ignores requests for an accounting of our Mother's finances before her death.
After Mother's death, the family met with the lawyer. The estate was equally split between eight surviving children. One sibling was requested to vacate the house within 30 days. The caretaker sibling, who became the executrix, was given 4 months (over my objections), but the lawyer gave us his personal assurance that the house would be vacated and sold within 6 months. "Trust me," he said. The backup executor also assured us that he would make sure the house was sold and the estate closed, as promised.
Maybe I am a pessimist, but the caretaker sibling had already refused to put her adopted child into school when she became school-age, claiming she was home-schooling her. And she vehemently refused to get a job, after Mother died. So I was skeptical that she would leave a rent-free situation without some prodding. Also, she becomes erratic and threatening whenever questioned or asked for accountability. She is still unemployed, and without health insurance.
Over the next two years, the lawyer and the executrix ignored all requests from the other siblings, except an occasional letter assuring us that the house would be put up for sale very soon, and that an accounting of the estate would be issued soon.
Now it is more than two years later, and the executrix is still in the house, which is not on the market, and she just fired the attorney. Either she has backdated her letter or he has taken almost a month to notify us of the firing. In any case, he sent a letter informing the beneficiaries of the firing, tells us he's notifying the court, and that he is turning over the file to the executrix.
From my perspective, the lawyer took a hefty percentage of the estate and didn't do anything except file the initial papers. Is that all he had to do? The executrix has been living rent-free in the house for over two years, despite pleas from the rest of the family to vacate the house and put it up for sale. Both of them have ignored demands from the family that she pay rent for the time she has lived there. It doesn't seem right that they could just stall us for two years and then she can fire the attorney and buy more time.
Misc. detail: This not a large estate, since the executrix spent most of the money before Mother died. The backup executor tried to reason with the executrix once, and now does not want to get involved. Suing the executrix seems pointless, since she has no interest in getting a job.
Two other siblings have previously consulted with attorneys; both said that there was nothing we could do before two years was up. But now more than two years has passed. What can we do?
Our Mother passed away over two years ago. Father was already deceased. Two siblings lived in Mother's house, one taking care of her in her last years. Caretaker sibling had POA , and was paid for taking care of Mother. There was an accounting of our Mother's finances at the time of the POA, and then the caretaker sibling blew through more than $500k in the next couple of years. She refuses a financial accounting, as she did when our Mother was alive. Our Mother's lawyer simply ignores requests for an accounting of our Mother's finances before her death.
After Mother's death, the family met with the lawyer. The estate was equally split between eight surviving children. One sibling was requested to vacate the house within 30 days. The caretaker sibling, who became the executrix, was given 4 months (over my objections), but the lawyer gave us his personal assurance that the house would be vacated and sold within 6 months. "Trust me," he said. The backup executor also assured us that he would make sure the house was sold and the estate closed, as promised.
Maybe I am a pessimist, but the caretaker sibling had already refused to put her adopted child into school when she became school-age, claiming she was home-schooling her. And she vehemently refused to get a job, after Mother died. So I was skeptical that she would leave a rent-free situation without some prodding. Also, she becomes erratic and threatening whenever questioned or asked for accountability. She is still unemployed, and without health insurance.
Over the next two years, the lawyer and the executrix ignored all requests from the other siblings, except an occasional letter assuring us that the house would be put up for sale very soon, and that an accounting of the estate would be issued soon.
Now it is more than two years later, and the executrix is still in the house, which is not on the market, and she just fired the attorney. Either she has backdated her letter or he has taken almost a month to notify us of the firing. In any case, he sent a letter informing the beneficiaries of the firing, tells us he's notifying the court, and that he is turning over the file to the executrix.
From my perspective, the lawyer took a hefty percentage of the estate and didn't do anything except file the initial papers. Is that all he had to do? The executrix has been living rent-free in the house for over two years, despite pleas from the rest of the family to vacate the house and put it up for sale. Both of them have ignored demands from the family that she pay rent for the time she has lived there. It doesn't seem right that they could just stall us for two years and then she can fire the attorney and buy more time.
Misc. detail: This not a large estate, since the executrix spent most of the money before Mother died. The backup executor tried to reason with the executrix once, and now does not want to get involved. Suing the executrix seems pointless, since she has no interest in getting a job.
Two other siblings have previously consulted with attorneys; both said that there was nothing we could do before two years was up. But now more than two years has passed. What can we do?