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I'm going broke waiting for resolution all while trying to deal the the loss.

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My Moms only asset was her house. The first year after her death, my nephew and grandson lived in the house. I had them pay for the utilities. The second year, they moved out and I paid the utlilties. I never paid the taxes. I let the township put a lien on the house. I had the heat turned down to 55 so the pipes did not freeze. I unplugged all the appliances. I had a light that went on and off in the living room. I had cable and landline discontinued. This at least helped keep my out of pocket low. The house had been for sale for 4 yrs by then. When I was just about to abandon it, it sold and I received all my out of pocket back.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Why are you going broke?

Are you personally paying bills belonging to Assets of the Estate? Like the deceased left a home (an Asset of the Estate) but no $. But the home has utility bills, tax bills, maintenance costs, etc. and you are paying these bills. Or you paid all the funeral & burial costs of the deceased. Or you are paying the deceased car note or storage unit. Is this what is happening?

If this is your situation, then my not-an-attorney understanding is that you need to be filing your own claims against the Estate to get that $ paid to you. The Estate will eventually do a distribution to pay claims.

Probate can take a good period of time. It’s very interdependent on what the deceased left for their Estate and if it’s complicated.
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Reply to igloo572
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My last stint as executor took 18 months. My lawyer always gave me assignments and timelines. If you are not doing any recommended footwork, then of course you are going to get bills.
You also can change lawyers.
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Reply to MACinCT
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I did most of Probate myself. Filed for the IRS tax number and NJ too. The only reason why I had a lawyer was because my brother did not want the house he inherited so it had to be put back into the estate. He then helped with the sale of the house and the final accting. In my State, probate cannot close until 8 months. By the time the house sold, it was 2 years. You should be paying nothing out of pocket. My lawyer got his money at the time the house sold. He could have also become Executor and made his money from the % of the estate.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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headsortails987, probate can take quite a bit of time depending on the County/City caseload. Even though I had an Elder Law Attorney for my father's probate, it took two years to finally finish up due to the County caseload.
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Reply to freqflyer
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I agree.
1. Who assigned you executor of the will? What relationship did you have?
2. Who are the beneficiaries of the will?
3. How large an estate is this in terms of assets?
4. Are assets liquid or real estate?
5. Were you aware you were assigned executor of this estate?
6. Are you aware that you do not have to serve as executor of an estate just because you are listed?
7. Do you feel educated in the matter enough to act as executor?
8. Are there problems with the beneficiaries?
9. How did you choose the probate attorney?
Why can you not communicate with the attorney?
How long has the matter been before the attorney?
10. What was your agreement with this attorney as to what duties YOU would do and what duties HE/SHE would do?

Without having any idea what is going on here we could not possibly help. I myself found being executor and trustee of the estate of my deceased brother was MUCH MUCH easier than being the POA while he was alive; however, it did take the most of a year to accomplish everything, pay last taxes and close the estate.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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We need more details for context, like:

Who's estate is being probated? Are you the Executor/Personal Representative?

When did it go into probate (I'm assuming with the attorney's help)?

FYI probate can take an average of 8 months. My Aunt passed away last January 2025 and it took 8 months to probate, but she cashed in some bonds right before she passed in 2025 and I can't close her estate until I file her final personal taxes.
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Reply to Geaton777
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