Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

How long does it take to disbribute funds after an estate is closed

My mother died Jan. 1, 2000. Her house was sold and closed Nov. 2000. Her will clearly stated how to disburse the funds and there were no questions or disagreements regarding distribution. It was, according to her attorney, closed in Court June 22, 2001. To date, no funds have been distributed and we, my siblings and I, never seem to get the same explanation from the attorney. The latest explanation was last Tues. (7-24-01) when he asked me if I had received a ''receipt'' in the mail. I told him no and he said they had been mailed, and I would be getting one and to sign it and return to him. After he had received all the signed ''receipts'' the funds would be disbursed. To date, none of us has received anything from him plus I can't imagine what we would be signing a ''receipt'' for, since we haven't received anything. My question is this: Is this the normal procedure in closing out an estate? Is this a normal amount of time when nothing is disputed and it has been, according to him, presented to a judge and signed off by the judge? None of us are in the same city as the attorney except my step father and he also is in agreement with the distribution of funds. Thank you for any help you can give me.


Asked on 7/30/01, 9:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mary Ann Wunder Wunder & Wunder

Re: How long does it take to disbribute funds after an estate is closed

This seems highly unlikely. This is not usual procedure. I don't know if the estate was supervised or unsupervised. If supervised, you can go to the courthouse and look at the file to tell you what the attorney and/or personal representative say has happened and possibly talk to the judge about why it has not. If unsupervised, you can look at the file but there will be a lot less information to give you a clue to what has happened. If the personal representative is the attorney, then there is little you can do except contact the disciplinary commission about this matter. If the personal representative is someone else (a bank or another person) perhaps he can tell you what is happening. You also have the right to hire your own attorney to look into what is going on. From my experience, there is no reason why your inheritance should not have been distributed to you when the Court was told the probate matter was closed.

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Answered on 7/31/01, 1:41 pm


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