Wondering what to do when one of three siblings refuses to sign a release indemnifying estate attorney and allowing informal accounting of late parent’s estate - any alternatives to a judicial accounting? Sibling in question wants to sue attorney handling the estate
I would suggest you contact a lawyer near where you live and seek advice. This is NOT something you want handled by strangers on an Internet forum.
You have to go through the court. Probate court could set up an executor.
There is no requirement that the estate attorney be indemnified in order to terminate the estate. That’s nice for him if it happens, and he should probably withdraw if it doesn’t, but in theory you could terminate the estate by agreement without the agreement of a particular attorney. Who is serving as executor? What does he or she think?
If the sibling in question wants to insist that the estate assets pay for the suit against the attorney, as opposed to financing it himself, then he shouldn’t agree to the informal accounting and distribution, even if the attorney isn’t indemnified. In that case, the executor would have to go to probate court to do a formal accounting, and the objecting sibling would have to raise his objections there. That’s probably not so inefficient a way of handling things. If the probate judge decides that there is no valid claim against the estate attorney, that will probably be the end of the matter. If he decides that there is a valid claim that shouldn’t be waived, I imagine a fairly quick settlement should follow, unless the estate gets too greedy.
Hi, JHS - I pm’d you - thanks
Good Luck. Death and money cause such interesting interactions.
We got no accounting of FIL’s estate. Nothing, nada, zip. DH got a check.
Our attorney said we could send letters asking for an accounting, and the state would fine the executor $1000 for every one he ignored. But we knew the best he could do was make stuff up because he hadn’t kept records along the way, so there was no point to it.
It sounds like this is not about the money, it’s about broken relationships. You may be in for a long ride.
@MomofJandL - you are exactly right
We got regular accountings from the family friend executor. He kept excellent records. We were happy to pay his bills and those if the estate attorney. We were happy when the estate was finally wound down after 2+ years.
How can there be anything other than a formal accounting? Someone has to add up all the assets, pay the liabilities, and distribute the remainder in accordance with the will and/or state law. You take all the bank statements, and financial account statements, and whatever else there is and it should take half an hour or less.
The lawyers request for indemnification seems unusual and out of line to me. Who is the executor? That’s who is in charge. Does anyone have any idea of the order of magnitude of the assets?
What if there are difficult-to-value assets, like some types of real estate, antiques and collectibles with thinly traded markets, a business or share of a business (not publicly traded stock), etc.? Or family heirlooms that the heirs may feel is much more valuable to them than their monetary value from selling?
In that case I would recommend spending estate money to have the assets appraised. The total value divided by heirs per the terms of trust or will and then the heirs buy back what they want out of their share value. Anything left over after the buy back gets sent to charity or can be retrieved for free by the heirs. If two people want the same item they bid on it auction style.
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What if there are difficult-to-value assets, like some types of real estate, antiques and collectibles with thinly traded markets, a business or share of a business (not publicly traded stock), etc.? Or family heirlooms that the heirs may feel is much more valuable to them than their monetary value from selling?
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That’s a fair question, but valuing things is the second step. Listing them is the first, and ought to be straightforward for assets of higher value. If there is a trove of personal property, then that could be a problem…but my guess is that most personal property is worth at most .25 on the dollar against what the heirs think its worth.
Or the lawyer is asking for indemnification because the will was not exactly followed. NOT saying this is OP’s case at all. But when Dad’s second wife died, her kids did all sorts of things that were directly against the will … like sell the house before a year was up when wife’s will stated that Dad could live there for a year. And selling it including a stained glass piece that I gave to my Dad which he had in HIS will that I should get back. But it was still his so if he wanted her kids to benefit, I was keeping my mouth shut. BUT estate lawyer knew quite well why he and the executrix needed indemnification.
We all signed, our parents had been married 27 years and why make life hard. It was just stuff. However, I sure don’t send them Christmas cards anymore…
H has had his parents and Sis die. Never has anyone sought or received indemnification in connection with their estates. I guess different families have different situations.
T/E attorney here.This is a state-specific issue. You should ask the attorney what the next steps are. Here, we would file a petition for court approval of the accounting and fees, and a court order closing the estate and releasing the executor. The attorney wouldn’t be entitled to indemnification. Any of the heirs or beneficiaries could raise any objections they may have, and the executor could reply. There might be a hearing if there were factual questions, or if not, the court would decide on the law. But I don’t know what your state’s procedures are.
Re: the sibling wanting to sue the attorney, on what grounds? If they disagree with the fees, that is one thing, but if they claim the attorney committed malpractice, that’s another. On what grounds do they claim the attorney’s actions harmed them? The attorney and the executor need to assess the risk of a suit, determine whether the suit would be something that would be appropriate for the esate to pay to defend (in which case the estate may have to stay open and keep back sufficient funds to pay for the defense until the statute of limitations has passed), etc. It may be that the grounds for a lawsuit can be removed by a formal closing of the estate, or not, depending on the basis of the claim. If the attorney believes there may be basis for a valid malpractice claim, s/he may have a duty to advise the client of this and advise them to seek other counsel to evaluate and advise.