Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

My 21 yr. old daughter's father (my ex-husband) died a year ago and left no will. He was a Ft. Wayne, IN. resident. We are Ohio residents. He apparently had more debts than assets. He had recently retired and apparently had rolled over his 501K into an IRA ($10,000).We hired a lawyer who originally said she would make C. (his only child) executor and would track down his bank accounts and debts. She also was supposed to locate the IRA and determine if Chelsea were the beneficiary. We gave her a retainer. We had nothing but problems from this attorney, who told us later we didn't need to have an executor. She strung us along for a year and accomplished virtually nothing. We finally had to fire her, but we are out $1800 and have very little money. We don't know how to proceed. We want to track down the IRA and determine if Chelsea is the beneficiary and find out what to do with his car and belongings. If possible, we would like to be reimbursed for funeral expenses. The car and belongings are only worth about $3000 and he had no home. He had credit card debts of more than $9000.

L.Watkins


Asked on 7/14/11, 3:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Fioritto Patete Nancy Fioritto Patete, Esq.

If you believe you were not represented well or professionally, I suggest you file a grievance with the attorney's county or local bar association. It's unfortunate this happened to you. Did you sign an engagement letter or contract that outlined what she would do for you? This is a discussion you can have with the bar assocation.

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Answered on 7/14/11, 5:08 pm


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