Inherited money?

Question

Apparently, I have inherited some money from a family member.
The lawyer = not very nice. He told me these things usually take 6-9 months. Do they usually take this long? does he have a lot of paper work to fill-out or something? I don't know how these things work and he did a terrible job explaining it to me. Thanks!

he told me he needed to just "pay some bills & do her taxes" before he distributes the assets. Who takes 6 months to pay bills?

Answer 1

He is probably referring to Probate. Probate, the settling of an estate, usually can take up to 9 months and to make sure all bills and title searches are complete.
So the time frame is normal.
As far as the jerk lawyer. It's not because he is a lawyer, it's because he is a jerk!!

Answer 2

The long process is probably not the result of paying bills and doing taxes, but rather with the fact that a court of law needs allow the assets to be distributed.

Was there a will? If not, then the court has to talk with everybody who has a claim against this person's will (this includes family members and bill collectors). The court can order that the deceased bills be paid off before any money is inherited. This process can take several months.

If there was a will, then the court still needs to look at it an decide if everything is legitimate. The court still has to allow any creditors to be able to collect on debts that your family member had at time of death. Enough time has to be given for any creditors to make a claim against the estate (usually up to 90 days). The court needs to determine which debts the family member had at the time of death (this can take another month or two). A final tax return can take another 30 days to clear the IRS (if a refund is due).

To cap it all off, there is usually a handful of judges who handle probate cases. This can slow down the process some more (depending on how slow/fast your local courthouse works).

This process is called probate. It is a long, painful, and (I hate to tell you) expensive process. The court will charge fees for everything. The lawyer will charge high fees too ($100-$500 an hour or more).

It can be difficult explaining this. Some lawyers love the fact that you don't know what is happening. That way only they know what is going on and they know how to charge the estate more money (don't get me wrong, I know many lawyers who will not take advantage of such a situation). I would ask the lawyer questions like, 'what are you doing now?' 'How does this work?' If this is being dragged out too long, then you may want to bring another lawyer into this.

Making sure you have a will and a revokable living trust is a great way to make sure that those who inherit your assets do not have to go though this process.

Answer 3

If you are named on the will the lawyer has to provide you with a copy if you ask. Take this to another lawyer and ask their opinion....... usually free or at minimal cost. Once lawyer A realizes that you have spoken to lawyer B they will be much more forthcoming about giving you information.

Here's the thing. It is so common that the lawyer handling the estate drags it out forever or does not put a priority on having it all done. Every hour he bills can be charged to the estate. If a family member challenges this delay, fees, documentation and asks questions they start moving along. Usually when they are not so nice it means there is a ripoff going on.

Get a copy, speak to a lawyer and have him threaten to sue.

Answer 4

my uncle died 16 months ago and left me a large sum we are still waiting for the bank to release it

Answer 5

Good for you.