Skip Weldon <skip5700removethis[at]hotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

While Mr. Weldon's advice here is normally spot on, as an attorney, and a
sibling executor (who also took under the will) I'm afraid I have to put
in a minor correction here. The folks who work in the clerk's office at
the probate court (or any other court for that matter) are very, very VERY
careful about providing anything that even resembles legal advice. While
this often comes off as rudeness, it is in fact an attempt to steer clear
of rules prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law. If the original
poster wants legal advice, he needs to hire an attorney.

- quote -

I'm not a trusts and estates expert, but I did serve as the PR (the
gender-neutral version of executor or executrix) for my father's estate.
(By the way, the first thing I did was hire a lawyer who *was* a T&E guru.
Smartest money the estate ever spent. If anybody needs a crackerjack guy
in Georgia, please contact me and I'll refer you.) Anyway, in Georgia I
had to file a paper in the probate court styled something like "Petition
to Appoint Personal Representative." That petition had to be signed by all
the heirs (who happened to be my siblings and the widow). In our case, the
heirs did not object to having me serve as PR -- even though I also took
under the will. I suppose that if one of them had a problem with me being
the PR he could have retained counsel and filed an objection to the
petition. Then we could have litigated it.

- quote -

Skip makes an excellent point here. And if this is all you ask of the
folks in the clerk's office, they will happily oblige.

- quote -

More good advice from Skip. For example, in the case of my father's estate
the beneficiaries of his IRA were known to the broker/dealer that
maintained the account, but that information never made it into the
probate court's file because the IRA assets were distributed to the
beneficiaries outside of probate.

The original poster explained:

- quote -

Anybody who serves as a PR has a fiduciary obligation to those who take
under the will to distribute the assets the way the decedent wanted them
distributed. That's why everything "goes through probate." The PR cannot
dispose of any of the decedent's assets until he is appointed by the
probate court and issued "letters testamentary." That way, everything the
PR does is subject to the supervision of the probate court. If the PR does
something that the sibling heirs think is contrary to the will, they can
retain counsel and litigate in the probate court. When the estate is
closed, the PR has to secure a "discharge" from the probate court. Any
heir who thinks the PR messed up, can oppose the discharge. Granted, all
of this takes lawyers. And if the amounts are small it might cost more to
litigate than its worth. But the fact remains the probate courts exist to
ensure that the decedant's financial affairs are resolved in accordance
with *his* wishes.

On 15 May 2004 09:10:01 GMT, joe_question[at]yahoo.com (JoeQuestion)
wrote:

- quote -

First, rules vary by State. Your quickest answers will come by
contacting the probate court in the county where the deceased resided
and put your questions to them.

In my State a person making a will can name anyone Personal
Representative. As for seeing a copy of the Will, once admitted to
probate it is a public document and available to anyone through the
court for the asking (and probably paying a photocopy fee).

Just remember that some things ARE private - namely trusts. Absent
kissing up <grin> to the PR/Trustee, if the decedent owned a Living
Trust you may never learn anything about it. (That's one of the
reasons for using them - some folks want to keep their affairs
private.) Also, it's difficult in some cases for an outsider to find
out about beneficiary elections (insurance, retirement plans) because
those assets typically do not pass through Probate.





-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

Is it right for a sibling to be an Executor/Executrix when that
particular sibling will reap a windfall of the Will .... This
particular Executor/Executrix is currently refusing to have a reading
of the Will .... me thinks its due to other sibling's being named to
share the proceeds ? This Executor/Executrix has the only copy of the
Will . In New York State is it possible to obtain a copy of the Will
if one is named in it , without the Executor's/Executrix's permission
???
Email Please .... Joe_question[at]yahoo.com

Thank You