Executer of estate hiding will from beneficiary
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Executer of estate hiding will from beneficiary
My husband’s cousin is executer of his uncle’s estate and was supposed to give my husband, his sister and probably others what they were entitled to according to the Will but didn’t. She spent everything and sold everything for debt. When asked about it she won’t say where the will is or who drafted it law firm, etc. Does my husband and sister have the legal right to sue her if they don’t have the will to prove that she didn’t give them the stuff that they were supposed to get?
Asked on September 11, 2019 under Estate Planning, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Yes, if a beneficiary believes the executor did any of the following--
1) Violated the instructions of the will;
2) Engaged in "self-dealing," or diverting to herself assets, money, etc. that should have been for beneficiaries;
3) Was unreasonably careless in how she managed the estate;
4) Did not actually have authority to do what she did--e.g. there was no will so she was not actually the executor
--she can be sued. Such a lawsuit against an executor is commonly called an action "for an accounting," since it asks the court to make the executor "account for" her management of the estate. An executor who is found to have violated the will or her "fiduciary duty" (the duty, imposed by the law, to be loyal to the beneficiaries' interests and not benefit herself at their expense through "self dealing," and also to use reasonable care), or is found to have never had the authority to act for the estate in the first place, can be ordered to repay money to the estate, can be replaced as executor, etc. A lawyer would be very helpful in doing this: your husband and his sister can join together to hire one.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.