FIVE TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR PROBATE PRACTICE
April 19, 2011 § 7 Comments
- Always accompany the executor, administrator, guardian or conservator to the bank or other financial institution to open the estate account. That way you can make sure that the funds are properly deposited into a restricted account, and that the fiduciary does what she is supposed to do.
- Always ask that a duplicate bank statement be sent to you for the estate account. If the bank balks, direct that the bank statement be sent to you and not the fiduciary. Review each bank statement promptly when you receive it to make sure that no unauthorized disbursements are being made. Also, when the next accounting comes due — Voila! — you have a complete set of bank statements.
- Have your secretary or paralegal call the fiduciary every couple of months to inquire how things are going, to remind of upcoming deadlines, and to ensure that the address and telephone info in your file is accurate. This is not only great client relations, it’s one of the best means possible to discover and address problems in their early stages.
- Accompany your fiduciary to inventory that safe deposit box, and, if possible, bring a witness. It seems that there is often someone lurking in the wings ready to allege that there were all sorts of valuable items in there that the fiduciary is not accounting for.
- Do an inventory even when one is not required. Inventory establishes the baseline for accounting. It also can help neutralize the claims of many disgruntled heirs and sideline-sitters.
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Dear Judge, My mother’s estate lawyer seems to think he has a fiduciary duty to the executors rather than the estate. The executor refuses to show me the books of my mother’s estate and he is going to charge the estate with money to defend them. Any advice for this lawyer would be appreciated.
Not sure what you mean by “the books.” Not advice, but merely an observation: any beneficiary or heir can file a motion to compel an inventory and/or accounting.
Thank you for your response. By books, I meant the account of the estate. I filed a motion myself, pro se for an accounting I am a paralegal and I am an heir. The lawyer and the executor both refuse to comply and are threatening me with fees. They said there were already over $10,000.00 in accounting fees and $10,000.00 in attorney’s fees, but they won’t account to me nor have they accounted to any of the other heirs.
[…] are some simple strategies to avoid these missteps. Here is a link to Five Tips to Improve Your Probate Practice that outlines some things you can do. The primary attribute you need, though, is vigilance. Set up […]
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