Too late to request an accounting?

[dparizek]

I am in Iowa. I recently learned that my mother owned an insurance policy for her mortgage. To cover the balance that she owed but Im sure this was not added in the probate accounting. Is it possible the representative left this out and embezzled this money? I never received a formal accounting even though i asked for one. There were so many problems and i suspected alot of devious or nefarious moves by the rep but never had proof until now. My mother passed away 5 years ago. Is it too late to do something and where do i go? What can i do?

 

[adjusterjack]

What kind of policy?

If it was life insurance, for example, in the amount of her mortgage, the policy would have named a beneficiary who would get the death benefit. That benefit is not part of the estate and has nothing to do with probate. The money goes directly to the beneficiary who can elect to pay the mortgage and keep the house or sell the house and keep the death benefit or keep the death benefit and let the mortgage company foreclose.

If the representative of the estate was the beneficiary of the policy then the representative did no wrong by keeping the money from the policy.

If the policy did not specify a beneficiary, the money would go to the estate and have to be probated.

As to your issues with the handling of the estate, Iowa Code Section 633.488 allows for reopening probate within 5 years in order to compel an accounting.

Section 633.488 - Reopening settlement, Iowa Code § 633.488 | Casetext Search + Citator

If your mother's death was 5 years or more ago, then it's too late.

 

[dparizek]

My daughter told me it was to pay the balance of the mortgage. I’m positive that the representative wouldnt be the beneficiary. It sounds like the beneficiary was the bank? So that would mean there is $40,000 unaccounted for in the estate though? And there is nothing that i could do about itbecause of it being 5 years?

 

[dparizek]

Thank you for your information

 

[adjusterjack]

My daughter told me it was to pay the balance of the mortgage.

That could have been the intent. What happened to the house? Who got it? What happened to the mortgage?

I’m positive that the representative wouldnt be the beneficiary.

No, you're not positive without reading the policy. Do you have the policy?

It sounds like the beneficiary was the bank?

Possible, but unlikely.

And there is nothing that i could do about it because of it being 5 years?

Not according to that statute.

But what you can do is look up the probate file at the courthouse and see if that shed's any light on what happened.

Or, you can consult an attorney.

 

[bcr229]

Check to see if the property was part of the probate estate. If it was held as joint tenants with right of survivorship with someone else then it would not have been, upon your mother's death her interest would have passed directly to the other joint tenants.

 

[zddoodah]

To cover the balance that she owed but Im sure this was not added in the probate accounting. Is it possible the representative left this out and embezzled this money?

In the abstract, virtually anything is possible, but I would hope it obvious that no one here has the slightest idea what happened in connection with the administration of your mother's estate. That said, how could you possibly be "sure this was not added in the probate accounting," which you never saw?

There were so many problems and i suspected alot of devious or nefarious moves by the rep but never had proof until now.

What "proof" do you have now?

My mother passed away 5 years ago. Is it too late to do something

Is the probate still open? If not, when did it close?

where do i go? What can i do?

Consult with a local probate attorney.

My daughter told me it was to pay the balance of the mortgage.

Have you actually seen the policy? Did your daughter see the policy?

It sounds like the beneficiary was the bank?

Not sure what this means, but if the bank was the beneficiary, then there's no reason to believe this would have been mentioned in the probate accounting.