Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Indiana

Re: Death without a will, What should you do if the Lawyer you have is screwing

In Indiana, probate should not take beyond a year from the time the estate was opened. Once that one year time period has been reached, the courts require in writing a request for additional time to close the estate. There is a 9 month deadline after death for the filing of a federal estate tax return if one is required (for large estates over $650,000-675,000) and a 12 month deadline for filing of the inheritance tax return if one is required (number of direct descendents times $100,000). There is a 5.5 month deadline for filing claims after the estate is opened. Occasionally problems arise with federal estate tax returns and the payment of state estate tax.

You can report the attorney to the disciplinary commission, complain to the judge, or the personal representative can discharge his services and force him to request the court determine what his fee should be. If one of the heirs is the personal representative, he is the one who should take the bull by the horns and approach the attorney. Everyone one else ought to hire a separate attorney to review what has been done and contact him to get it moving.