Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Minnesota

Accounting of Estate

My Grandfather died without a will. Probate was started in November 2002. My Uncle was named P.R. of the court ordered supervised estate. My Mother, who is an heir, has requested on several occasions an accounting of the estate from the P.R. and his attorney. They continue to have excuses and say they don't have one yet.

Minnesota statutes 924.3-706 states that the P.R. is supposed to provide an inventory nine months after the decedents death? If that is the case can we file anything with the court to enforce this or does it have to be done by an attorney. We did talk to an attorney who told us basically that we had to wait for the accounting.

I even inquired with the Court Administrator for that county, who told me that the allowed time to settle an estate is 18 months in Minnesota. Is that correct?

Thanks.


Asked on 6/22/04, 5:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Kelly-952-544-6356 Kelly Law Office

Re: Accounting of Estate

The statute on doing the inventory reads as follows:

524.3-706 Duty of personal representative; inventory and appraisement.

Within six months after appointment, or nine months after the death of the decedent, whichever is later, a personal representative, who is not a special administrator or a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty, shall prepare and file or mail an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of death, listing it with reasonable detail, and indicating as to each listed item, its fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance that may exist with reference to any item.

If you don't like how the personal representative is performing, your remedy is to petition the court to have him or her removed. The statute on that reads as follows:

524.3-611 Termination of appointment by removal; cause;

procedure.

(a) A person interested in the estate may petition for removal of a personal representative for cause at any time. Upon filing of the petition, the court shall fix a time and place for hearing.

It's complicated and you need a lawyer's help. It could cost a lot of money, and if the excuses of the personal representative sound good to the judge, you gain nothing.

If you have already consulted a lawyer who says take it easy and wait, that's probably what you should do - BUT IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO SEEK A SECOND OPINION. I would be glad to consult with you concerning this.

Good luck.

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Answered on 6/23/04, 12:41 pm


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