Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Minnesota

Problems with a sibling PR

A sibling and beneficiary, A, is to be voted the estate's PR by the other siblings in lieu of a void will. There is a house involved that a different sibling, B, wants to buy from the other siblings. A and B bicker before court and we end up on a supervised path. Why should I have to pay extra in legal fees for their costly behavior? When the attorney bills the estate, can the payment of that fee be charged against beneficiary shares in different percentages? In general, if the attorney represents the PR, why should the other beneficiaries have to pay the same amount of legal fees to begin with? They benefit to some extent, but not the same degree. There is also a life insurance payout involved that is not beholden to probate, but the PR won't distribute it, and in general is aloof with disclosure and is adversarial. Can I hold a hearing to move for my share of that payout now since I'm apparently legally entitled? One more thing, can the profit from the sale of the house and bulk of the estate be distributed now while we wait for minor possessions to be sold off? Thanks much for taking the time to answer any/all of these.


Asked on 11/14/01, 3:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Melvin Peterson 763-424-6442

Re: Problems with a sibling PR

Everyone has to pay the same amount for attorney's fees unless the family

would agree to

something else. The non-probate asset should be paid out immediately, but

who is it payable

to? The beneficiaries of the insurance should all have acess to the

information. there could be

a problem if the beneficiary is the PR or only one of the children. How

long has the estate been

open? An estate has to be open for a four month claim period, but under

Minnesota Statutes,

a supervised estate does not HAVE to be closed for 18 months. Also, if the

estate is supervised,

the PR is not supposed to distribute anything unless the court allows

advanced or partial distribution

and allows the accounting. I think, if you are a beneficiary of the

insurance, you could petition the

court for that to be distributed, but then again, if it isn't a probate

asset, would the court issue an order

for distribution on a non-probate asset. It may have to declared a probate

asset first.

Read more
Answered on 11/15/01, 4:54 pm


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