Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You don't have to sign a settlement or release unless you have received sufficient information about the estate to know what you are signing. You may ask the executor or administrator of the estate and the lawyer to provide you with an accounting. If you do not receive it, you may go to Orphan's Court in the County where the estate is being administered to seek an accounting.

This response is not legal advice, since I do not have all of the information that would be required, and I do not have a representation agreement with you.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

Neither I nor any lawyer here can fully help you without looking at what has been done and the paperwork. Is the estate in Pennsylvania? If so, estate documents are a matter of public record and anyone can review them. There has to be an accounting served on you in order to close the account and that should indicate the distribution or proposed distribution. There are time limits for objecting to the account so do this as soon as possible.

Depending on what the file reveals will depend on whether you wish to incur the expense of getting your own attorney. The estate attorney does not work for you and owes you no real duty. Their duty is to the estate, so if you want your own lawyer, you will need to hire one. If there is something funny, then the attorney can file the proper paperwork if necessary.

However, it may be that what the lawyer told you is correct. I cannot say as I have seen no paperwork. If the estate attorney knows about the account it makes no sense that the account is not being distributed. However, you do not indicate whose name is on the account, what the will says about distribution of the account, whether the deceased had a surviving spouse or how much money was in the account. It may be that the remaining balance in the account after payment of taxes goes to someone else.

As a general rule, the heirs do not get to keep property and not pay the taxes and debts of the decedent on probate assets (non-probate assets like IRAs, life insurance or beneficiary designated assets that pass outside of probate do not count). Was the money market account exhausted by the taxes that are owed? If so, then there is nothing to distribute to the heirs in that case.

Again, what you need to do is go to the probate court (called the Orphans' Court in PA - other states use different names) in the county/state where the estate is being probated. You need to make a copy of the will, the inventory and any documents called an accounting. See how the money market account is being classified and how it is being distributed. If something does not seem right or if you do not understand, then find a probate attorney in the county/state where the estate is being probated (other than the estate attorney) and pay for the lawyer to review all of the paperwork and advise you of your rights.