Recently she went ahead and hired another attorney and gave her his will without consulting me. This is right after he had passed away, he just passed on May 3rd, may 4th she hired an attorney that her husband had used when his mother passed.
Power of attorney ends at death. You made sis executor? Only dad can assign executor. If there is a new attorney working for dad they are there to help. Without executor a court process is necessary to settle the estate. Sis has retained an attorney that she is comfortable with. Is there some reason that you do not trust sis?
I think you should be glad that she is going to an attorney for help with her executor duties. An attorney will keep things legal.
Have you seen a copy of the current will yet? If it specifies a 50/50 split that is what the lawyer sees to it will happen. If Sis was successful in changing Dad's mind and he made out a new will, the lawyer will ensure that it is followed, putting the grandchildren in the distribution.
It was Dad's money. What he wanted done with it is what should be done with it.
Remember that some people skip the next generation and divide their estate among grandchildren. Some people give significant amounts to their children and lesser amounts to each grandchild. Some people set their entire estate in a trust for the care of one child with a handicap. Some people leave all their money to the Abandoned Cats Retirement Fund.
There is no "should" or "right" way to distribute a financial legacy. The executor, with the help of a lawyer, has the duty to see that whatever the deceased wishes were (as stated in the will) is how the assets will be distributed.
BTW, her hiring an attorney to assist her in closing out the estate is perfectly legitimate as the executor. Neither of you any longer have POA authority, so she didn't need to consult you about that.
I don't understand. You wrote that "I also made her Executor".... then later you seem to clarify that this was your father's will. As Glad points out, you have no authority to name anyone as Executor for someone else's will.
I'm very sorry for your loss, and sorry for the confusion that seems to be arising.
It seems as though there might be some serious contention here. Perhaps you might want to consider hiring an attorney as well, to represent your rights.
However, this goes back to who was chosen as Executor and who made that choice. If it wasn't your father's choice, and that would have been specifically specified in his Will, then you have some serious legal issues.
Another thought - you wrote that you believe your sister is giving her children money and you have no control over it. This again turns on the legitimacy of the executor, but it also assumes that there are liquid funds to be distributed. If your father's assets were invested, such as in stocks or mutuals, there's no way that they could be available this quickly after someone's death. There are transfers and retitling that have to be done, after the Death Certificate has either been provided or obtained through public records.
Can you meet with your sister and clarify exactly what's going on?
The executor may be required to provide all beneficiaries with an accounting of how the decedent's assets, liabilities and administrative expenses of the estate were handled before the estate can be finalized.
Yes, an executor is stated in the will. You can't make her Executor unless...your were coexecutors and you gave up your right to be one. If no executor listed then she goes to Probate and asks to become Administrator. As said, she does not have to tell you the lawyer she picked. Once the will is filed by Probate it will be public record and you can see it. As executor, she has to abide by the will. If she doesn't you can sue. I think her getting a lawyer is a great idea. Just a heads up, Executors are allowed a % of the total estate. In NJ its 6%.
My SIL was executor when my MIL. It was a simple estate. My SIL hired an attorney and it was really good she did. Questions come up, even with a simple estate, and the attorney makes sure everything is done properly. Worth every penny!
yes because everything is to be split 50/50 and she had always made it a point to my father that he should have given money to her children, which is 3 and i only have one and believe that you do with what you are given, and decide what to do with you children , not give them his money and take the rest and split it o feel she has a trick up her sleave, but his will clearly states everything 50/50 . i believe she is giving them money and i have no control; over this?
56wife, nothing wrong with hiring an Attorney to help finalize the closing of the Will, especially if the Will needs to go into Probate.
I am an only child and I used the "Elder Law Attorney" that had drawn up my parent's Trust and other legal documents. Both my parents had passed. Not everything made it to the Trust, thus it became part of Probate and that is so complex. I was so glad to have an Attorney do the required paperwork. Of course, the Attorney fee did come out of the Estate.
Have you seen a copy of the current will yet? If it specifies a 50/50 split that is what the lawyer sees to it will happen. If Sis was successful in changing Dad's mind and he made out a new will, the lawyer will ensure that it is followed, putting the grandchildren in the distribution.
It was Dad's money. What he wanted done with it is what should be done with it.
Remember that some people skip the next generation and divide their estate among grandchildren. Some people give significant amounts to their children and lesser amounts to each grandchild. Some people set their entire estate in a trust for the care of one child with a handicap.
Some people leave all their money to the Abandoned Cats Retirement Fund.
There is no "should" or "right" way to distribute a financial legacy. The executor, with the help of a lawyer, has the duty to see that whatever the deceased wishes were (as stated in the will) is how the assets will be distributed.
I'm very sorry for your loss, and sorry for the confusion that seems to be arising.
It seems as though there might be some serious contention here. Perhaps you might want to consider hiring an attorney as well, to represent your rights.
However, this goes back to who was chosen as Executor and who made that choice. If it wasn't your father's choice, and that would have been specifically specified in his Will, then you have some serious legal issues.
Can you meet with your sister and clarify exactly what's going on?
I am an only child and I used the "Elder Law Attorney" that had drawn up my parent's Trust and other legal documents. Both my parents had passed. Not everything made it to the Trust, thus it became part of Probate and that is so complex. I was so glad to have an Attorney do the required paperwork. Of course, the Attorney fee did come out of the Estate.