Jerry
07-11-2007, 07:54 PM
Our mother passed away about two months ago.
A lawyer who established herself as the executor of the estate wrote the Last Will and Testament of the deceased, our mother. The only other person to witness the Will was the lawyer's husband. The Will stipulates that all personal property is bequeathed "to my executor to dispose of in accord with my wishes which I have made known to said executor." We can find no documentation that spells out what wishes were made known to the executor, the same person that prepared the Will.
We can also not locate any agreement that defines the fee to be paid to the lawyer that executed the Will. One day after our mother's death, the lawyer had us sign an agreement that provides a fee from 1% up to 4% of the estate's value. We now feel that this agreement was signed under duress and it was presented as if our mother agreed upon it.
Lastly, we interviewed and selected a realtor to list our mother's house in Ohio. However, the lawyer/executor refused to accept this realtor as the listing agent and instead selected "a friend" as the listing agent.
We are very concerned that there are serious conflicts of interest and that the lawyer/executor has breached any fiduciary or other responsibilities and should be removed as executor of the estate. We have until August 18th to contest the Will, hopefully have the lawyer removed as the executor, and then carry out our mother's true wishes.
A lawyer who established herself as the executor of the estate wrote the Last Will and Testament of the deceased, our mother. The only other person to witness the Will was the lawyer's husband. The Will stipulates that all personal property is bequeathed "to my executor to dispose of in accord with my wishes which I have made known to said executor." We can find no documentation that spells out what wishes were made known to the executor, the same person that prepared the Will.
We can also not locate any agreement that defines the fee to be paid to the lawyer that executed the Will. One day after our mother's death, the lawyer had us sign an agreement that provides a fee from 1% up to 4% of the estate's value. We now feel that this agreement was signed under duress and it was presented as if our mother agreed upon it.
Lastly, we interviewed and selected a realtor to list our mother's house in Ohio. However, the lawyer/executor refused to accept this realtor as the listing agent and instead selected "a friend" as the listing agent.
We are very concerned that there are serious conflicts of interest and that the lawyer/executor has breached any fiduciary or other responsibilities and should be removed as executor of the estate. We have until August 18th to contest the Will, hopefully have the lawyer removed as the executor, and then carry out our mother's true wishes.