How do I find out if an estate has been closed?

Question

How do I get the deed to land that was left to me in a will? My lawyer is nowhere to be found. Who can tell me that the estate has been closed?

Erven Nelson · Answer

You can call the court, look up the case on the internet (in Clark County) or get a lawyer to help you.

Edwin K. Niles · Answer

You must have something with the case number.  Go to your county's superior court web-site and look it up.  If you don't have the case number you can still index the case number.  You can also go to Calbar to get the status and address for your lawyer.  What did we do before computers?

Douglas Tull · Answer

Check with the Probate Court for the county in which the decedent died - it would help if you have a Probate case number.

Bernard H. Greenberg · Answer

You can visit the Court and review the file yourself. Second, you can engage a new lawyer who specializes in estates to assist you.

Frances Headley · Answer

You can review the court probate file or have someone do it for you. Any estate that is closed will have a filed Order for Distribution.

Mark T. Peters · Answer

Go to the court where the estate was opened and look it up there.

Richard Keyes · Answer

In Missouri, review the probate file at the probate court.

Randy Lish · Answer

Go to the court where the probate was filed, and look at the file.Your next step will depend on what you find out has already been done.

Gerald Bagazinski · Answer

You need to look at the paperwork your lawyer gave you. My recommendation would be to go to the county probate court in which the original probate estate was or would have been filed. My suspicion is that the estate was opened and administratively closed because there was no progress. A greater issue is who has been paying the property taxes on the property you were suppose to receive. If they have not been paid the property may revert back to the county. Time is of the essence as to the property taxes. I would go before the end of February and check it out. It is also possible the estate did not own the property. So the gift to you would have lapsed.You might want to check the grantor/grantee index at the Register of deeds to do a search on the property.

Dara J. Goldsmith · Answer

You should contact the estate attorney who handled the probate or review the court record.  Generally speaking an order of final discharge is the last order when an estate closes. If you are still not sure you may need to retain another attorney to review the file.

Norman Reitz · Answer

You should go to the County recorder.

James Maguire · Answer

If the estate was opened and the will probated, the records would be in the district court for the parish of the decedent's residence.   You can call the clerk of court and ask.

Kathleen Delacy · Answer

The Register of Wills should be able to show you the status of where the estate is in the administration.

Victor Waid · Answer

Obtain yourself new probate legal counsel; before engaging counsel, examine the court probate file if there is  a probate filing and make a copy fore the new attorney who can examine the file and make the recommendations necessary to close the estate.

Brian Haggerty · Answer

Go to the courthouse and review the estate file.

Christine James · Answer

Go to the courthouse and have the clerk pull the file.  You can see everything that happened in the estate.  You can also go to the county recorder's office to see if the title is in your name.

Ben Liu · Answer

Check with the probate court clerk.

Charles Perry · Answer

If you have a copy of any document that was filed with the court, you   can look up the status of the probate in the court's files.  The list   of documents of cases in many courts is on line.  You can go to the   county court website for the county where the estate was probated, use   their database to search to find the names of documents under your   case number.  Counties have different systems for obtaining actual   copies of documents, however.

Susan Wideman · Answer

Contact the Court where the estate was being probated.

Jayne Sebby · Answer

The Executor has a statutorily-set amount of time to close up the estate - often about 12 months - but sometimes it takes longer than that.  The local Probate Court should be able to tell you if a particular estate has been closed.

James Frederick · Answer

Normally, the probate court can tell you. Some of the larger counties have files available online for review. If the estate is closed and the property has not been transferred, there is a potential problem. That could also be a potential problem for the attorney involved, as well.  Michigan posts the contact information for practicing lawyers on the state bar website. You may want to check to see whether the lawyer has moved. If the lawyer is simply non-responsive, then you may need a new lawyer.

Find a Lawyer

Ask a Lawyer

Read Legal Articles

Ask a Lawyer

Read Legal Articles

How do I find out if an estate has been closed?

21 ANSWERS

Find Local Estate Planning Lawyers

Helpful Resources

Ask a Lawyer