allfiredup
Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? The deceased father, his son and I (nephew of the deceased) all live in Georgia. The sister who serves as co-executor lives in California, if that matters.
My uncle died in March 2009 and we were surprised to learn that he had changed his will two years prior to his death. The original will designated his son as the executor, but the will revision was for the sole purpose of naming both his son and daughter as co-executors. My aunt has Alzheimer's Disease and we believe he wanted both children managing the estate to ensure that my aunt's financial security is protected and estate assets are only used to provide for her care. She moved into an assisted living facility two months after his death and the monthly cost is over $6000.
The estate primarily consists of about $220k in invenstments, stocks, annuities etc. and real estate that appraised for $1.3million. I helped them (the executors) prepare the house for an estate sale that was finally held in December. The next step was to make necessary repairs to the house (roof and plumbing), then rent it as a source of income to help pay for their mom's care.
For the sake of clarity and simplicity, I'll refer to the daughter as "Jill" and the son as "Jerry" from this point forward (not their real names).
Jill lives in California and flew back to Georgia every 4-6 weeks to perform her executor duties, usually staying about two weeks each trip. Jerry was rarely cooperative in assisting her during her visits and there is still a lot to be handled to rent the home, probate the will (I'm assuming) and make sure that mom's medical needs and living arrangements are monitored on an ongoing basis.
Jill learned on Christmas Eve (12/24/09) that she has a rare form of breast cancer and chances of survival beyond two years is less than 10% with the most aggressive treatment program. She immediately began chemotherapy, will have a radical mastectomy in May/June, then radiation and hormone treatment, possibly followed by more chemotherapy. Her oncologist in L.A. says travel will be impossible until at least October and then it will be highly unlikely. In other words, she is unable to perform any of her duties as co-executor.
To further complicate matters. Jerry has his own neurological health issues (migraines, etc.) and his health has also been in decline. He is also married to a dreadful woman (in all honesty, she meets at least 90% of the criteria used to define psychopathy)! She can't be trusted and I fear that she has already stolen from the estate!
As the situation currently stands, Jerry's wife will perform his duties as executor unchecked by the intended co-executor! To what end and the extent of the damage she will cause literally keeps me awake at night! I worry about my aunt's future medical care as her condition continues to deteriorate and more specialized and intensive attention will be required! She is 80 years old but in excellent physical condition, so she could theoretically live another 10 years...
The only way to regain control of this situation is for someone to replace Jill as co-executor, if that is legally possible. The estate attorney and I are familiar with one another because I attended several meetings with Jill and Jerry at Jill's request. I am the obvious choice and, honestly, the only one that Jill feels her father wouldl want to do so. We don't expect Jerry to openly or formally object to me taking the co-executor role.
So...how the heck can we proceed with this? I know that executors named in wills must be approved by the Probate Judge before they have any authority to act, so I'm assuming the court must also approve of a change such as this. Jill is in California and unable to return to Georgia, but the estate attorney will support whatever Jill wants to the court.
Please advise...I'm in very foreign territory and action needs to be taken immediately to maintain/regain control of the estate.
I will be grateful for any advice you folks can offer....What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
My uncle died in March 2009 and we were surprised to learn that he had changed his will two years prior to his death. The original will designated his son as the executor, but the will revision was for the sole purpose of naming both his son and daughter as co-executors. My aunt has Alzheimer's Disease and we believe he wanted both children managing the estate to ensure that my aunt's financial security is protected and estate assets are only used to provide for her care. She moved into an assisted living facility two months after his death and the monthly cost is over $6000.
The estate primarily consists of about $220k in invenstments, stocks, annuities etc. and real estate that appraised for $1.3million. I helped them (the executors) prepare the house for an estate sale that was finally held in December. The next step was to make necessary repairs to the house (roof and plumbing), then rent it as a source of income to help pay for their mom's care.
For the sake of clarity and simplicity, I'll refer to the daughter as "Jill" and the son as "Jerry" from this point forward (not their real names).
Jill lives in California and flew back to Georgia every 4-6 weeks to perform her executor duties, usually staying about two weeks each trip. Jerry was rarely cooperative in assisting her during her visits and there is still a lot to be handled to rent the home, probate the will (I'm assuming) and make sure that mom's medical needs and living arrangements are monitored on an ongoing basis.
Jill learned on Christmas Eve (12/24/09) that she has a rare form of breast cancer and chances of survival beyond two years is less than 10% with the most aggressive treatment program. She immediately began chemotherapy, will have a radical mastectomy in May/June, then radiation and hormone treatment, possibly followed by more chemotherapy. Her oncologist in L.A. says travel will be impossible until at least October and then it will be highly unlikely. In other words, she is unable to perform any of her duties as co-executor.
To further complicate matters. Jerry has his own neurological health issues (migraines, etc.) and his health has also been in decline. He is also married to a dreadful woman (in all honesty, she meets at least 90% of the criteria used to define psychopathy)! She can't be trusted and I fear that she has already stolen from the estate!
As the situation currently stands, Jerry's wife will perform his duties as executor unchecked by the intended co-executor! To what end and the extent of the damage she will cause literally keeps me awake at night! I worry about my aunt's future medical care as her condition continues to deteriorate and more specialized and intensive attention will be required! She is 80 years old but in excellent physical condition, so she could theoretically live another 10 years...
The only way to regain control of this situation is for someone to replace Jill as co-executor, if that is legally possible. The estate attorney and I are familiar with one another because I attended several meetings with Jill and Jerry at Jill's request. I am the obvious choice and, honestly, the only one that Jill feels her father wouldl want to do so. We don't expect Jerry to openly or formally object to me taking the co-executor role.
So...how the heck can we proceed with this? I know that executors named in wills must be approved by the Probate Judge before they have any authority to act, so I'm assuming the court must also approve of a change such as this. Jill is in California and unable to return to Georgia, but the estate attorney will support whatever Jill wants to the court.
Please advise...I'm in very foreign territory and action needs to be taken immediately to maintain/regain control of the estate.
I will be grateful for any advice you folks can offer....What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
