My father passed away intestate in 2013 and I just discovered a probate case opened by my stepmother who was the administrator. She listed him as having no inventory which is a lie. The case remained open due to a wrongful death claim lawsuit against the Ford Motor Company that settled out of court in 2016. Over 118K has been paid out over the last 5 years to the stepmom/fiduciary. I contacted the attorney on the case and she said they went by the information my stepmother provided which was that he had no children--so she flat-out lied because she knows all of us and we have had personal contact with her since my dad's death. The attorney apologized and said that an Application for Instruction will be filed to inform the Probate Court about me & my 3 siblings and that we were not notified of the previous distributions and request guidance on how to best rectify the situation. What can we expect to happen that can "rectify the situation"? Do we need our own attorney at the hearing?
Your stepmother could face serious legal consequences. Yes, yes get an attorney who knows how to handle the situation and litigate your interests. I suggest finding an attorney who practices in or near the county where the probate is open.
Best of luck.
You might save yourself some money by waiting for the Court's instructions and to see whether your stepmother follows them. If not, she would be in contempt of court. You could also then sue her for fraud and conversion (converting someone else's property to her own.)z
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