He has also taken everything that belonged to my parents, and will not grant me access to some of my own property that was stored in my deceased mother's storage facility.
You have stated this person "makes himself executor " of an estate. If there is a will then the will APPOINTS an executor chosen specifically by the person writing the will. If there is no will then the person has died intestate and it is necessary to deal with the estate by getting a lawyer, going to the court, informing the court that there is no will, and applying to be the "administrator" of the estate. That person is a legal fiduciary under the law, who is obligated to follow the laws of the estate. You should obtain your own lawyer to attempt to retrieve your possessions out of your deceased Mom's storage. Hopefully you have proof that these are your things. The executor/administrator doesn't have to show a will, but if there is a will it is a PUBLIC document and you will be able to access it in county records within the time needed to record it. If there is no will, there may be actions in the court to appoint an administrator. See an elder law attorney who can inform you of the rules of your state re notifying beneficiaries of a will. The administrator of a will follows the language of the will. If there is no will there are no instructions, and the administrator appointed by the court is obligated to gather all the assets, to sell said assets at fair market value, and to distribute the assets as the laws of your state stipulate. When you see the elder law attorney tell him you want to pay BY THE HOUR to be informed of the law. If you indicate this is a court case he will charge exorbitant fees and we recently saw this in a case on forum. Good luck. This is a sad warning to others reading Forum about putting their possessions in the storage of someone who may just die.
A Will assigns Executor. Probate approves it. It can be contested. Call the County Clerk and see if a Will has been filed, if so its now public record. Go to Probate and tell them that brother is not going by the Will. If no will, he is not an Executor but an Administrator and has to do what an Executor does. In the end, the State determines who inherits.
If after talking to the Clerk and Probate you get no where, tgen contact a lawyer.
You can't "make yourself" the executor of an estate. The will stipulates who that is, not him. It has to be filed for probate and is actually a public document.
Get to a trust and estate attorney to get some assistance as to what to do. A strongly-worded letter from the lawyer might bring Bro in line.
If there is no will then the person has died intestate and it is necessary to deal with the estate by getting a lawyer, going to the court, informing the court that there is no will, and applying to be the "administrator" of the estate. That person is a legal fiduciary under the law, who is obligated to follow the laws of the estate.
You should obtain your own lawyer to attempt to retrieve your possessions out of your deceased Mom's storage. Hopefully you have proof that these are your things. The executor/administrator doesn't have to show a will, but if there is a will it is a PUBLIC document and you will be able to access it in county records within the time needed to record it. If there is no will, there may be actions in the court to appoint an administrator.
See an elder law attorney who can inform you of the rules of your state re notifying beneficiaries of a will. The administrator of a will follows the language of the will. If there is no will there are no instructions, and the administrator appointed by the court is obligated to gather all the assets, to sell said assets at fair market value, and to distribute the assets as the laws of your state stipulate.
When you see the elder law attorney tell him you want to pay BY THE HOUR to be informed of the law. If you indicate this is a court case he will charge exorbitant fees and we recently saw this in a case on forum.
Good luck. This is a sad warning to others reading Forum about putting their possessions in the storage of someone who may just die.
If after talking to the Clerk and Probate you get no where, tgen contact a lawyer.
Get to a trust and estate attorney to get some assistance as to what to do. A strongly-worded letter from the lawyer might bring Bro in line.