Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

My morher passed away in 2007. She was proceeded by my stepfather until 2008. I was the executix of her will and had a lawyer that I thought was representing me and guiding me in the direction of what all duties I needed to carry out. I paid all of my mothers debts and all information was given to my lawyer. I assumed everything was done and her estate closed,,, because my lawyer never contacted me to otherwise!! Well going on about 5 years now I receive a letter from my lawyer stating that my stepbrother was granted rights to reopen my mothers estate. After receiving another letter stating that I owe an amount of $19,0000 due to the fact that there was stock that should have been sold and put into my mothers estate then carried over and put into my step-fathers estate!! This stock was my grandmothers then willed to my mother then I received as being the beneficiary of. Also in this 2nd letter they give me an alternative to the situation which is the option of signing my house that my mother and stepfather lived in that I own in exchange for the $19,000. My home is worth $90,000. I can't get my lawyer to even talk to me BCZ they want $5000 retainer fee to proceed. I don't have any money. And besides being a mental basket case over the loss of my mother my lawyer has never gave me any clue to any of this and I feel I have been totally misrepresented. In fact I have never spoke to my lawyer in the passed 6 years he's been representing me its always been his secretary and she would always say well we are just waiting to see and no news is good news!!! I feel like im being blindsided by both lawyers because if legally the stock should have went the way they are saying wouldn't it be illegal to offer me an option of signing a house over in place of it? And also another big issue is the fact that the lawyer that is representing my stepbrother is the lawyer I had been having a tremendous amount of contact with me before my mother passed away because this was the same lawyer that had represented them in the past about different situations. I feel like this would be a very big conflict of interest because I had communicated with this lawyer on a regular basis because after my mother fell ill and was in the hospital for a whole summer I found out my mother was terrified of my stepfather. He had been sick for over a year and was not mentally stable!! So I had been discussing my stepfathers crazy actions and basically getting legal advise from her! DISTRESSED PLEASE HELP


Asked on 10/23/14, 10:40 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

James Slater Slater & Zurz LLP

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Answered on 10/23/14, 12:36 pm


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