Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maryland

Is there a set amount of time a will should be settled? My mother is an heir to her sister-in-laws estate in Wash DC area. Mother is 82 and lives in MN. It has been about 18 months since her sister-in-law died. The representative for the estate, also the sister-in-laws attorney, is doing nothing to get this settled. My mother has called, written and has had her attorney contact this man by phone and mail and he does nothing but lie and make promises but doesn't come thru. We don't know if bills are being paid or if the house and contents are being taken care of. The next door neighbor in DC does mow the yard and tells us the house is still not up for sale as promised. This neighbor also referred us to another DC attorney who agreed to take over the case. The 1st attorney agreed to this but within two weeks later the second attorney backed out. We wonder why. Can we have this all investigated? We think this attorney is stalling hoping Mother dies first.


Asked on 6/21/10, 10:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Abraham Abraham & Bauer, LLC

DC law will control the length of time the estate should be open. Has anyone contacted the Court in DC overseeing this estate and/or requested a hearing? Has anyone filed an ethics complaint with DC? Start there and hopefully the original attorney will turn the matter over to new counsel

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Answered on 6/22/10, 5:45 am


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