Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
hire for job and not getting paid
my husband was hired to fix the apartments for a lady, she got ill and then passed away he had already started the job plus had a signed document where she agreed to the price... unfortunetly the document did not have a date.. plus the nephew when she got sick wanted to make sure of everthing and spoke to my husband and since the lady had told my husband he would take care of everything that he was gonna be the heir to most of her stuff... then when the estate started being handled by the lawyer they dont want to pay out any money and my husband keeps calling them and then will not return the calls... eventually someone called the city and they came to inspect the site and told my husband that the frames of the windows had to be changed so that had delayed him .. and this last week they cleard the framing now he has to do the acoustic and paint but how do we get paid ??? can you please help
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: hire for job and not getting paid
Get a "Creditor's Claim" form from the court where the probate is filed and file that form right away--instructions for filing the form and serving it on the estate are on the form. If you don't complete this process, you will likely lose your right to get paid.
Re: hire for job and not getting paid
If the property is part of the probate estate, file a claim in the probate court under the probate case no. The case can't get closed until you give a relaease.
Re: hire for job and not getting paid
Go to the courthouse where the estate is being probated and ask for a form called "Creditors Claim." I believe there are directions on the form, but in general, you should fill it out and make several copies. File the original with the court and mail a copy to the attorney for the executor (there's another form called "Proof of Service by Mail," the original of that form should also be filed with the court and a copy sent to the attorney). The executor must accept or reject your claim within a set period of time. I believe it's 90 days, but that information should be on the form. If you don't hear from the executor within that time period, that means that your claim has automatically been rejected. At that point you must file a lawsuit against the estate if you want to be paid.