Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

probate

parent dies, no will, one heir selected to be administrator, property sold to one of the other heirs,(told after the fact),all money suppossedly divided evenly.the figures just dont add up (somehow taxes and lawyer paid later, when we were led to beleive that there was nothing left and we would all have to still chip back in for this. some of us heirs beleive there obviously must have been other assets and insurance policies that we are not being told about. we were also told that a bank contacted administrator to inform him of a safe deposit box,later admin said oh the bank made a mistake and there really wasnt one. how can we find out about all of this?since there was no will what will be filed at court for public viewing at the end of all of this?will he have to file an accounting somewhere since we can not get a straight answer from him? where would safe deposit box contents have to be accounted for, and any insurance policies be listed?does he and or lawyer automatically have to send us a final accounting and or any tax returns,or do we have to wait for them to become public , or do we have to formally request them? please help


Asked on 6/13/06, 12:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: probate

You might be fortunate that the matter is being handled as an Administration, rather than a probate of a Will, since in an administration the administrator must be bonded. Thus, you have a source of recourse if anything improper has been done. As an heir, you are entitled to an accounting of the entire estate, and copies of tax returns if any have been filed or are required to be filed. You do not specify the size of the estate, and this impacts on the tax return requirement. In the accounting, all assets are listed and all expenses and fees are set forth. If you do not receive one, you have the right to demand it be produced. Also, the estate cannot be concluded without a Refunding Bond and Release from all persons entitled, you can refuse to sign one until the accounting is produced. If you suspect assets were not reported, you can contact the banks or other asset issuers to verify the accuracy of information. This is a response to an Internet question and a reply is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.

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Answered on 6/13/06, 3:38 pm


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