Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Missouri

Re: How long

In an administration such as you describe the administration should take about 10 months in Missouri. If the house was to be sold inside of the probate estate (as opposed to the title being redesigated in the name of the appropriate devisees) it could take longer depending upon how long it takes to close the sale of the house.

I would take a look at what is on file at the probate court. In order to close the estate, an accounting must be made to the court of all financial transactions that occirred during the probate administration. The client (Personal Representative) usually provides the raw data to the attorney in the formof bills, paid receipts and cancelled checks. If these documents have not been supplied to the attorney then he does not have the documentation needed to close the file with the court.

Re: How long

Mr. Nack is correct. Assuming your father-in-law lived in Missouri, it is important that you see the court's file ASAP. You may be able to do some checking on the internet, perhaps through casenet.org If you determine that there is no estate opened, or that the will was not admitted to probate, you may want to have a sit down meeting with lawyers 1 & 2.

Good Luck

Re: How long

Sometimes the administration of a Probate Estate can take quite a long time. Still, I would suggest that you go to the court house in the county where the decedent's real estate is located, and read the court file itself. Although the clerks can not give you legal advice, they should be able to tell you what the staus of the matter is and what needs to be done next. If the file is in order, then I would suggest writing your attorney a polite letter asking him to proceed with the final distribution without delay. I hope that this helps.