Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

knowing all

parent dies house sold monies distributed to heirs. my question is how will we ever know if there was any other bank accounts or insurance poloicies kept by executor. i know their is a final accounting and a final tax return, and i also know that if an insurance policy was only in one persons name than they are legally in the clear.but that is not what everyone agreed to. what if they just dont list any accounts they dont want us to know about, how would we ever know?doesnt all insurance policies have to be listed somewhere for all heirs to see , regardless if they were named or not. everything is suppossed to be split evenly, yet some heirs seem to have a lot of expendable cash, and we think something is not right. it would be awkward to ask for the final papers, so we are hoping that this has to be done automatically by the executor, is this right?


Asked on 2/16/06, 1:39 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
John Davidson Law Office of John A. Davidson

Re: knowing all

The executor has a fiduciary duty to the heirs. Which means he must deal fairly and honestly with the heirs. If he doesn't he has substantial civil and criminal liability. As such unless the will state otherwise he may have to post a bond to cover losses to the heirs if he doesn't live up to his duties.

The real question is why don't you trust the executor to carry out his responsibilities?

Feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.

{John}

Read more
Answered on 2/16/06, 2:14 pm
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: knowing all

You do not specify the possible size of the estate. If it is over $650,000, a State Inheritance Tax Return needs to be filed, so you could request a copy. In theory, the Executor must account for ALL assets, including those that may have a designated beneficiary (like insurance policies, retirement accouts and the like, or accounts registered in multiple names). It is possible that some accounts had additional names, besides the deceased. There are many explanations, some good and some bad. More information is needed. If you question what has happened, you could demand an accounting (as an heir you are entitled to one), or retain your own attorney to try to get information. See if you can get income tax returns. If accounts had the deceased's SS#, the banks would be listed and you could then contact them for more information.

Read more
Answered on 2/17/06, 11:41 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates questions and answers in Pennsylvania