Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
My dad's will stipulated his assets would be divided 50/50 between my brother and myself, with my brother as executor. After he died, my brother told me that dad had signed his home over to him, and he doesn't owe me any monies resulting from the sale. He has refused to provide me with an accounting of the estate's contents. He never probated the will. How do I find out whether or not he's telling me the truth? Can I get the information regarding the transfer of the property and subsequent sale from the County Clerk's office? I have done an exhaustive online search and spoken with several attorneys with varying responses. Some have advised hiring an attorney to pursue the case, and some have advised that since my brother sold the property and didn't probate the will, it was probably in his name and I should forget it. I don't want to pursue this if I don't have a case. I've already spent a lot of time, and I don't have a lot of money to through after what might be a lost cause.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You can search the land records at the County Clerk's office to see if the deed from your dad to your brother was recorded before his death.
If not, you might have a case. I would need a whole lot more information than what you have provided to give an opinion.
My comments are based on treating your question as a hypothetical. Accordingly, my comments could be substantially and materially different were I advised of all of the relevant facts and circumstances. My comments are by necessity general in nature, and should not be relied upon in taking or forgoing action in your circumstances without retaining an attorney. In order to fully explore your legal matter, you should meet with me or another attorney and bring to any such meeting all relevant documents and correspondence, and any other relevant facts.
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As you are aware, in New York there are various deadlines for filing a complaint, filing an answer to a complaint, or taking other action in order to preserve your legal rights, and avoid a complete loss of those rights. You should retain counsel immediately in order to be fully advised of your rights, and to be fully informed of the applicable time period within which those rights must be asserted. If you were to delay in doing so, it might result in your potential cause of action being forever barred.
I agree that you can get the house information from the recording office where it is located. You might have a claim, but you might also be time barred from bringing it. Many more facts are needed for a better answer, sch as Dad's date of death, when you found out about the house matter, what other assets are in the estate, etc.