Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

To whom it may concern,

My name is Gregory Barrett, and I am writing you this letter in hopes that you can provide me with some answers to the legal questions I have regarding my Mother's Estate and how it was distributed..... Okay??? well here goes ~ My Mother was a resident of Honolulu, Hawaii. when she passed away back in June of 1997. When she left us she left no Will, so it is my understanding that everything was to be divided equally between the 3 of us Siblings..... my Sister, my Brother, and I. My Sister was appointed Executor, as well as having Power of Attorney over all of my Mother's financial business etc......(Mom signed Power of Attorney over to my Sister while completely drugged up, as well as very close to death) Now that I look back on things I realize what a BIG mistake we might have made in putting our trust in her, but I pray to God that it isn't too late for somebody to do something about it. Okay, so My Mother owned a condominium there in Honolulu, and since we all lived over here on the Mainland it was decided we would sell it and split the proceeds. My Sister held a Real Estate license and has quite a bit of experience in the field, so she handled that as well.... She said the market wasn't great at that point in time so it would have to be sold at a lower price than expected. It sold fairly quickly for right around $120-130k so we split that between the 3 of us, as well as some jewelry and a few other things, and it was a done deal...... Now throughout this whole ordeal there was an Attorney overseeing the Probate process, so my Brother and I figured (even though we never FULLY trusted our Sister) that he (the attorney) would make sure everything was on the Up and Up...... I don't know why, but I have always sort of had this gut feeling that something wasn't right, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Now I think I have finally figured it out, so PLEASE bear with me for just another minute or so while I explain..... My Mother was a hard worker for many years, and she was a very thrifty woman. She was the head of Surgery at Straub Hospital there in Honolulu when she died, and I know she must've had a 401k, as well as numerous stocks, bonds, and very likely some sort of life insurance, yet NONE of these things were mentioned in Probate. I now believe I know the reason why, and that is because my sister was given Power of Attorney to act on my Mother's behalf, and all she had to do (still acting on my Mother's behalf of course) was to sign everything over to herself.... I believe she did this, and would be willing to bet my life on it!!! The problem is it has been 14 years since my Mother passed away, and I know if there is a statute of limitations on this type of thing that it has definitely come and gone. I just pray that this will fall into some other category, or that there is some sort of loophole, because she commited MAJOR FRAUD!!! Not only that, but the Attorney that was hired to oversee the Probate failed to do a very thorough job if none of this stuff was ever investigated whatsoever! Nothing about it in the inventory, and not once was it ever mentioned throughout the whole ordeal, as far as I know!!!

Now I ask, won't you PLEASE help me??? I need a local Attorney who is familiar with the laws of the Islands who can advise me in this matter, and (if I do happen to have some sort of case) one who would be willing to take my case, so that I may have the proper representation from here on out.....Even if you can't possibly take my case, could you PLEASE tell me if you think it is possible that I still have a case after all this time has passed? Believe me, ANY type of assistance you can provide will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you very much for your time & consideration!!!

I truly appreciate it, and I hope beyond all else that you will take just a few minutes out of your busy day to respond to this letter, no matter what the answer may be..... Thank You once again from the very bottom of my heart!!!

Sincerely,

Gregory A. Barrett

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