Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

Re: Should the trustee and executor of the will contact the attorney?

An executor or administrator of an estate is free to hire an attorney of his choosing. There is no legal reason for him to use the attorney who drew up the will. He does not even have to contact the attorney unless the attorney has the original will. Even then, he can request that the will be turned over to him and the attorney is obligated to release it to him or his attorney.

It sounds like your real concern is the possiblity that your brother-in-law unduly influenced his mother to put her assets into a trust or maybe even to turn assets over to him before she died. The will only applies to assets in mom's name at the time of death. The estate paperwork is public record and can viewed at the probate court. Trust documents do not get filed with the court and will be difficult to get your hands on unless your brother-in-law lets you see them.

There are remedies available for situations like this if you can prove undue influence. You can contest the will or you can claim that there are assets that belong to mom that should be in her estate but are not listed. There are also procedures for attacking the trust. These are rather complicated and you will need to hire an attorney.

Your wife needs to talk directly to an attorney asap. It is likely that an attorney can let you know if you have any hope of being successful before you commit yourself to a lot of money.

If you have an attorney who has some experience in these matters you should get in touch with him or her right away. I have been involved in a number of these types of cases over the past 33 years and will be glad to discuss this in more detail if you want to call. No charge or obligation for the call.

Good Luck

DHD

Re: Should the trustee and executor of the will contact the attorney?

Your question is a good one, as there is a general misunderstanding about the attorney's role in an estate.

The attorney works for the fiduciary (executor or administrator), not the decedent. The fiduciary has no obligation to use the attorney who prepared the will to assist in handling the estate.

If you believe assets have been improperly shifted, and it affects your inheritence, there are various filings you can make with the probate court. Remember, a Trustee can not act for their own benefit in dealing with trust assets unless specifically allowed by the trust.

You need to get an attorney to properly protect your rights.

Re: Should the trustee and executor of the will contact the attorney?

Probate court records are open. You can visit the court file room and see, ask the assistants to help you get the file, and read about the estate. This can be done without the help of an attorney. A trust, on the other hand, is a privately written document, and its information is not as easily available. Perhaps, without he help of an attorney, you can confront the relative.