Uncle's Will and Attorney Notice of Withdrawal

[JohnM1000]

Hi

I'm really hoping somebody can give me some advice on this matter.

My uncle was born in the UK but lived most of his life in East Hartford, Connecticut and unfortunately passed on two years ago. He left a will that was being handled by a family friend as the executrix and a local law firm. My uncle didn't have a lot of money but what he did have was supposed to be split between the executrix and 1 niece and 2 nephews, of which I am one. We are based in the UK.

The estate administration process has been going on since the death of my uncle 2 years ago. We have contacted the executrix and the law firm on a number of occasions over that time only to be told that it was still in progress. We contacted the law firm in September 2018 who informed us that the process was still not complete but when it was they would provide a comprehensive final account. After that we didn't hear anything so I contacted them again last week. Their response was to advise that they are immediately mailing their Withdrawal of Appearance to the court and advised that any future updates should be directed to the court or the Executrix directly. They have refused to say why they are withdrawing. All our communication with the executrix are now being ignored.

Can anybody offer any advice in these circumstances? As we are in the UK we have been a bit removed from the process but as we were my uncle's only family we feel a great deal of anger and frustration over what has happened.

Many thanks in advance

John

 

[Zigner]

You will want to contact an attorney in Connecticut. You may look at www.attorneypages.com, or contact the Connecticut Bar Association ( https://www.ctbar.org/ ) for attorneys.

 

[JohnM1000]

Hi Zigner

Thanks for your reply. My concern with this is that we know there isn't much in the will so we don't really want to be paying high attorney fees to get this resolved. If we contacted the court clerk, as was suggested by the original law firm, are they likely to be able to help us? Or will it have to be an attorney?

Many thanks

John

 

[FlyingRon]

Most likely the Executrix told them she wasn't paying them anymore. You'll have to talk to her or get your own attorney to deal with the probate court.

 

[Dandy Don]

Before you hire the services of an attorney, contact the probate court and order a copy of all the documents in the probate file and pay the fee for the copies to be mailed to you. That way you can review exactly how the estate has been handled up until now, and then you can decide whether you need to hire an attorney or not.

Or if you know someone who lives in the same city where the probate court is located, ask that person to visit the courthouse and look at the file to tell you what is in it.

This is mere speculation, but I am guessing that he may have had personal debts that reduced the value of what was left in the estate.