QUESTION
Where do I go to find out if I am over here estate?
Asked on Jun 10th, 2014 on Estate Planning - Michigan
More details to this question:
My mom passed away three years ago and I still don't know if I am the head over her estate. We hired a lawyer and he said that he filed all of the paper work to make me head but now I can’t get in touch with him. Where do I go to get the paper work saying that I am the head of her estate?
20 ANSWERS
Business Law Attorney serving Bingham Farms, MI
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James T. Weiner, P.C.
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Check with the County PROBATE court and hire an new attorney.
Answered on Jun 16th, 2014 at 10:40 AM
Denise Marie McBride
Did your mom have a will? If so, the will itself should have named you as the personal representative. If your mom died without a will and you think an attorney filed a probate administration petition, you should check with the county court, probate division. If you were named personal representative on the petition, you should have received notice from the court.
Answered on Jun 12th, 2014 at 4:37 PM
Go to the courthouse where the Will was filed for probate and read through all the documents to see what the attorney has actually done. The hearing to appoint the administrator of the Will should have occurred a long time ago. Then e-mail the attorney and tell him/her what you have found out and ask for an explanation as to why he/she has not done what is required. If there i s no valid explanation, which probably is the case, demand a refund of any money you paid the attorney and a return of the entire file, without any charge for the documents. Read a book, such as by Nolo Press, on how to handle a probate to see what needs to be done and if you can do it yourself. Otherwise, hire a new attorney and tell him/her what happened with the old attorney so that it does not happen again. depending upon what the old attorney says, consider reporting him/her to the state bar for improper delays and behavior.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:01 PM
Probate Attorney serving Newport, OR
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Minor, Bandonis & Haggerty P.C.
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To the circuit court for your county; there will be a file for the probate proceeding.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 6:42 PM
Corporate/Business Attorney serving Beachwood, OH
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Christine Sabio Socrates Attorney at Law
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You can go to the probate court in the county where she was a resident and see if an estate was opened. Many counties have online databases you can check. Three years is an unusually long time to wait to be appointed. It should not take that long unless there was a dispute with other beneficiaries or some other problem.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 6:35 PM
Taxation Law Attorney serving Glendale, CA
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Irsfeld, Irsfeld & Younger LLP
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Go to a new lawyer and bring all the papers you have to him or her.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 6:33 PM
Trusts Attorney serving Sacramento, CA
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Law Office of Victor Waid
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To the court where the paperwork was filed obtain a copy, typically the county of the death of the decedent.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 6:28 PM
Edwin K. Niles
A petition for probate is filed in the Superior Court of the County of Mom?s residence. You can index Mom?s name at the court and see if the petition was filed, and if so, the hearing date. After the hearing, the court will issue ?Letters?, which is your proof of your position.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 4:12 PM
By now the estate should have been settled and closed. Contact the probate court in the county your mother resided at the time of her death to see if the paperwork has been filed. If it has and it names you as the executor, file a complaint against the lawyer with the state's bar association or Supreme Court on the grounds that he hasn't provided you with the the documents that authorize you to serve as executor. If the paperwork hasn't be delivered, file the complain on the grounds that he took your retainer, didn't do the work, and can't be contacted. In either case, you need to hire a new attorney.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 4:08 PM
Taxation Attorney serving Charleston, WV
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C. Page Hamrick III
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FOR WEST VIRGINIA ONLY: You should go to the local courthouse, to the Fiduciary Supervisor's office for information, and you can review estate filings at the County Clerk's recording office.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 11:18 AM
Thomas Edward Gates
See the court clerk, she can tell you if you have been appointed executor of your mother's estate. If not, retain another attorney to assist you.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 10:48 AM
Business Planning Attorney serving Livonia, MI
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Frederick & Frederick Attorneys at Law
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If the paperwork was filed, it would be with the Probate Court in the county where your mother resided at the time of her death. Many counties have online records you can search. If the county in question is not one of them, then you should call the court directly. Three years is a very long time in probate. Even if you WERE appointed Personal Representative, if you did not stay on top of things, the estate would likely have been administratively closed by the court.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 10:37 AM
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Look on the court website or ask an attorney for help. It sounds like you need to find a new attorney to get the estate going again.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 9:16 AM
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Did you call his office? Send a certified letter? If those do not work contact the state bar. Maybe he died, moved, etc. check the Cory records where your mother died. You have lots of options.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:50 AM
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Generally, an attorney would open a formal administration of your mother's estate in the county where your mother passed away and as part of the administration would file a petition and other documents requesting the Court to appoint you as the personal representative of your mother's estate. If the papers were filed, then there should have been a case number and a Judge assigned. You can find out from the Clerk of Court of the County at issue if in fact there is an open probate action. It usually takes some time since the documents are first filed for the Court to sign Order/Letters appointing you the personal representative.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:33 AM
Commercial Attorney serving Chicago, IL
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Ashcraft & Ashcraft, Ltd.
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A will must be filed with the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the decedent resided at death. A probate case must be filed in that same county. If there is no will than any interested person can open the probate estate. The court will appoint the estate representative. As a child of the decedent you and your siblings would have an equal priority to being named as the representative by the court. If papers were filed by the attorney then a court case would have been opened and all papers would be part of the public record and available for examination and copying at the office of the court clerk. The case file would have the record of the progress of the probate case and any order of appointment for the representative.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:32 AM
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If the paperwork was filed in a major county, it's probably online. You can go to the county's probate web site and search your mother's name.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:25 AM
The probate petition would have been filed in the probate court in the county where your mother resided at the time of her death. Check with that court.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
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Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
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Start with getting the file from the lawyer you hired.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Check with the probate court to see if any papers were filed and probably you should get a new lawyer.
Answered on Jun 11th, 2014 at 7:57 AM