What To Do if the Personal Representative is Not Doing Their Job
An estate’s personal representative has legal responsibilities to fulfill within a certain time frame. Robinson & Henry Probate Attorney Tristan Younghaus explains steps you can take if your loved one’s personal representative is not doing their job.
Get Help for a Bad Personal Representative
If your deceased loved one’s personal representative is not doing their job, it’s time to take action. Our Probate Law Team can help. Call 303-688-0944 to begin your case assessment during which you’ll learn what legal options may be available to you. Also, you can also set up your case assessment online when you click here.
What to Do if an Executor is Not Doing Their Job
It’s a common scenario, the personal representative of your deceased loved one opened the estate, you received the initial paperwork, but you haven’t heard anything from anyone since. You’re wondering what’s going on and what you can do, right? We understand. Here are some steps you can take if you believe your loved one’s executor is failing on their legal obligations.
One: Request an Inventory of Assets
An estate’s executor, also called the personal representative, must take an inventory of your loved one’s estate within three months of their passing. The executor is required to take a written record of all of your loved one’s assets. If they do not produce that inventory, that’s a good indication you may want to retain a probate attorney to look into the matter.
Two: Have an Attorney Follow Up for You
If the personal representative is ignoring your requests, have someone follow up with them on your behalf. Generally, individuals tend to respond pretty quickly when a lawyer gets involved.
Three: Be a Good Communicator
If the personal representative provides you an inventory of your loved one’s assets, that’s great! It’s important to remember that you do need to allow them time to do their job. The executor has to collect bank accounts, sell properties, distribute assets, and complete other necessary tasks and those take time.
With that said, it’s never a bad thing to be in communication with the executor if you are an heir of the estate. You can check in to see how things are coming along, for instance, if they’ve had luck selling any property or trouble getting bank accounts. Make sure they are selling the properties and getting the bank accounts.
What to Do if You are Not Sure Your Loved One Had a Will
If you’re not sure your loved one had a will, you can look on the court file to see if there was one. If you do not find a will and you believe there is one have a probate attorney speak to the personal representative for you. A probate attorney can help you get to the bottom of things and even demand the will from the executor.
I Need Help with My Loved One’s Estate
Our Probate Law Team does this kind of work every day. It’s their legal specialty. Give us a call at 303-688-0944 if you have questions about what an executor should be doing or if you haven’t heard anything about your loved one’s estate. We can begin a case assessment.