Estate problems
Hi Ben and everybody. I've got something going on that doesn't really involve minerals but Keith suggested posting here so that's what I'm doing.
Some of you may recall a few years back, this situation with the same people did involve minerals...the executrix of my fathers will was trying to tell me that the minerals out of state were not covered by the will, that only the ones in Texas were. Then she suggested that I give half of them to her to avoid probate court in other states. She said they're not worth much and the estate can not support hiring more attorneys and going to probate court in other states.
All that is settled now but this is a good illustration of why I'm not exactly trusting of what is going on here. What happened? (get to the point Sarah?)
It's been nearly 4 years since my father passed away and the estate was finally settled last Dec. The problem is that the money was distributed to me but there is no final accounting.
I waited awhile for it then finally asked the executrix's assistant where it was and she replied with:
"The CPA is going to prepare the final tax return for 2011 before the
April 15th deadline. You will receive a K1 for the distributions you
received in 2010. All the money has been disbursed to you. I don't understand what you are referring by asking for the "Final Account"."
I sent her an email back telling her that as a beneficiary, I have a right to review the account and to to know if the estate was handled properly. That all the filings in the probate file are accurate and no property/monies were wasted. I made sure I said to her, I am not accusing her of anything but that it is part of the Texas probate code (showed her that) and is standard procedure. I also mentioned that I need to get the accounting to an independent accountant as soon as possible.
The estate's attorney I believe, should have advised them to keep detatiled records and provide a Final Account when the money is dispursed. I also emailed the estate's attorney but never heard back from her. I'm going to call her today if I can work up the nerve. That's a big IF.
I sent the executrix's assistant the email the 21st of Jan. and I have heard nothing, nada, zip, back.
So, I'm here asking ya'll if any of you have any suggestions on what to do next? I probably should contact my bil to see if he can get the executrix to do what she is suppose to do. I don't think they should expect me to blindly take on good faith that everything is A-okay here. I have a feeling this will lead to retaining an estate attorney of my own. I hesistate because of all the money spent so far. We've incurred great losses so,... trying to do this as inexpensively as possible.
Thanks for reading.
Views: 56
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Elmore on -
Sarah,
I am not an estate probate estate. You can get a copy from the court. Options are to go down to the court and visit the clerk's office to check out the case file (you will need the case number to do this). Or, contact the district clerk and see if they will fax you a copy of the final accounting. Some of the smaller counties are willing to do this. Typically the cost of obtaining a copy is $1.00 per page. You do not need a certified copy (they cost more). If that is a dead end, I would definitely call the estate's attorney and keep following up with him/her to get the accounting. If you are met with silence from the attorney and the executrix, you may have no choice but to get the help of an estate attorney to pressure them on your behalf.
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Permalink Reply by Wonderland on
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There should be an inventory of the estate on file in the probate documents filed with the court. You haven't signed anything waiving an accounting have you?
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Permalink Reply by Digger1 on
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You should hire an attorney to at least send a letter certified mail RRR to the executor and his attorney requesting a final accounting. That should get their attention, and they may comply with out additional expenditures. If that does not work, your attorney can file a motion requiring the executor to file a final accounting.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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Sorry to just be getting back to you. Thank you so very much for your replies and suggestions. This is someone who didn't even give me a copy of the will until 15 months after my father passed away and I finally asked. And then asked, why I needed it? She told me what was in the will shortly after the funeral but left out the part about the oil/gas interests. I didn't know about these. So that makes me question her. She also wanted me to pay her assistant and the will specifically says that the executrix only gets reimbursed for "reasonable out of pocket expenses". They are very wealthy themselves, although I know they took a major hit when the economy went south.
Wonderland, thankfully I haven't signed anything. She's handled this really badly and I had to pressure them to even distribute the money. She told me in Feb. 09 she would have it closed by the end of the year. But she wasn't even answering my emails by Dec. 09.
I really appreciate your responses.
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