Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

My grandparents left 13 acres of land as heir property in Coweta County. The new hospital for that area is building built literally next door. One family member has gone to the courts and petitoned to be Administrator of the Estate. The only issue is the family member is selling to first person that made an offer regarding the land. The other family members wanted to take a number of bids and put the land on the market but the now administrator says no. Rumor has it that the buyer is paying her a side fee of $1 million dollars for getting the land sold underprice. Before she was made administrator we tried to petition the court the stop her from being the administrator. The court told us this would require a lawyer to file a response. Every lawyer we called wanted upwards of $10,000 just to file the caveat. Unfortunately the ones in the family who oppose her being the administrator do not have that kind of money. The buyer is funding all of the Administrator's court costs and any other fees incurred to secure the sale of the land.

Question: Is this illegal? Could this be considered a conflict of interest? Is there anything that the family could do that does not cost $10,000 to stop the sale?


Asked on 2/03/11, 11:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Phillip M. Cook Cook Legal Services, LLC

There's plenty you can do, but the judge is trying to tell you that you are going to probably lose if you don't hire a lawyer. The issues are simply too complex for a lay person to deal with on his own on top of not having a knowledge of how the court system works.

How much ARE you willing to spend on a lawyer? I know some that wouldn't need a $10,000 retainer to start working. Times are tough for lawyers too and many are willing to take on a case for less than they normally might. I'm not a litigator, so I can't take your case, but I would be happy to possibly refer you after we discuss further. Please feel free to contact me directly by email at [email protected].

Best of luck. ******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******

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Answered on 2/04/11, 6:20 am


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