Getting an Accounting for an Estate in Probate

[momm2500]

My question involves estate proceedings in the state of: PA

i have asked for an accounting many times but was told i was not entitled to it (by the estate attorney). i have requested it through the court system so they now have 60 days to supply it. if dad's estate was never really probated (meaning they opened an estate just to get a life insurance check and closed it). if there was money in the bank accounts before either one passed and that money was used to pay for both funerals (i was there when the check was written from executor's personal checking account) he placed the money from the sale of all the stocks (mom and dad had) in his personal account and never opened an estate account for either one. the beneficiary of all life insurance policies were each other-meaning the parents. so you are saying a life insurance policy for dad with mom being the beneficiary, then the money should go to her estate. now do you use that life insurance money to pay any outstanding debts (which there were none-except the inheritance tax for my brother since he got the house) or does the proceeds from the insurance policy get divided among the beneficiaries?......now what do you do with the personal items in the house? does the executor have the right to give that stuff away to his personal friends and not me? don't i have a right to that stuff first as being the only other beneficiary? if he sold the personal items, does he have to provide a receipt for them? can you also request an accounting since he was POA? the problem is that he put everything in his own personal bank accounts. can you request copies of his personal account since he used that instead of opening an estate account? would this also make a judge rule that he mishandled the entire estate and have him removed? since tax forms were already completed and there was misaccounting done, who notifies the irs? do the court systems? if i personally have all paperwork that shows there was assets totaling over $65,000 and not one dime was noted in any paperwork...how long does it take to get my share of that money if the debts only totaled $26,000? what if they do not supply the accounting? do i have to take them to court again for them to provide it when a judge already told them 60 days.

[lwpat]

Unfortunately PR's often self deal and there is little you can do about it without a lot of expense. Usually you are looking at 5 to 10,000 in legal fees. If the estate attorney told you you were not entitled to an accounting you need to file a complaint against him with the state bar. What you will need to do is to sue the PR for your share and the longer you wait the less chance you have of recovery. There is also a statute of limitations that may bar your claim. Get the file from the probate court and then take what you have to an attorney.

[momm2500]

The estate attorney is trying to bill me his fees for requesting an accounting to my mom's estate. Isn't that the responsibility of the estate and the executor? Why should I be responsible for this bill if he did not do his job the first time? I am only a beneficiary who has a right to an accounting, am i correct? Also, what is the standard fee in PA for an attorney to do probate and so forth? is it a percentage of the estates' assets?

[lwpat]

You would have to ask other attorneys in PA about the standard fee. You are the one wanting the accounting so you should pay for any extra work over and above that required by the court. Have you called the court and had them mail you a copy of the file? If you feel he is overcharging either you or the estate you can file a complaint with the state bar.

[momm2500]

there was never an official accounting of the estate ever filed. i personally went to the register of wills and obtained copies of everything in my mom's file. the only items that were there were the will and the final tax form and the inheritance tax form. i asked the court clerk and she stated that i would have to request an accounting. i requested an accounting since the estate attorney indicated to me that there is nothing in the estate (which is a lie since the accounting does not show all the assets) i am disputing now what is in the accounting. there were bogus items listed (i apparently was paid to remove trash from my parents house) i never was permitted in the house after mom died since brother placed an alarm system on the premisis. i had to go to court to request the accounting and the judge told the estate attorney that he had 60 days to produce the accounting and that it would be up for audit since there was no offical accounting ever done on the estate.

[momm2500]

The only reason I requested an accounting is because there was never one filed to begin with! i am only a beneficiary not the PR in this case and the PR and estate attorney did not fulfill their job requirements of the estate.

The duties of the Executor or Personal Representative during probate are numerous and varied, and generally include:
(1) filing the necessary court documents to prove the decedent's will;
(2) identifying and filing an inventory of the decedent's property; not done
(3) having the decedent's property appraised; only real estate was done
(4) paying the decedent's debts and taxes;
(5) distributing the decedent's property according to the will or state law; never done
(6) providing an accounting to the court. never done, so i had to go to court to request that they do this so I can get my 50% of the estate

[lwpat]

If there has been self dealing on the part of the PR, you can file suit. If the attorney did not do his job, you can file a complaint with the state bar and they will investigate. If it has been 60 days and you do not have the accounting, you can ask the judge to hold them in contempt of court.

[momm2500]

and my question is: am I liable for the filing fees and the estate attorney fees for the accounting? remember I am only the benficiary

[lwpat]

If you are the only beneficiary, then the expenses would come out of the estate anyway so it really doesn't matter. You can demand to see what the attorney has charged the estate to date. If you feel he has overcharged the estate, you can file a complaint with the state bar. If you want the information, then pay for it now and fight about it later.

If you file suit against the PR, you can get all of the same information in discovery.