Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Residual Estate Funds Distribution
Can you tell me if the excutor of the estate has a certain time frame to distribute the residual funds for an estate? We didn't even know that there was a residual account for my Great Uncle estate (He passed away over 2 1/2 years ago) until last Dec. when the attorney informed me that he hadn't recieved a signed form from me. I spoke to the attorney again over a month ago and he said that he just hasn't gotten around to distributing the funds yet. He has also refused to give us an exact accounting of the estate. He will only give us information with approximations on it. So we have no idea what the residual account includes.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Residual Estate Funds Distribution
Since your question does not give sufficient facts I have to assume certain things. If this were just the probating only will everything would have to go through the court and there are specific requirements and timeframes, loosely adhered to, depending upon the county as well as the judge. Trusts do not have to go through probate. But the same probate code applies to trusts as well as Willes. You'll have every right as a beneficiary of the estate to have the estate distributed in a timely manner and have a complete and full accounting of every penny witch's been paid into the estate as well as those distributed out for whatever purpose. The first thing I would do is get an attorney to represent you to write to this attorney and find out why he has not complied with the law. You can also demand interest on Mondays which are do you for a reasonable period of time applicable to the death of your uncle and timeframes for distribution. In this case since it is 2 1/2 years, minimally, I would say the you're right to interest for at least the year if not a year in a half or more. I'm located in the San Francisco Bay Area and if you wish to consult with me you can contact me at 925 -- 945 -- 6000. I have handled more of these kinds of cases in the last 30 years than you can imagine.