Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

If there is a law suit pending for your father's asbestos-related disease, speak to the lawyer handling that case. When a settlement or award is received, a new account may be established. It would be in the name of the estate or the substituted heirs who are entitled to the settlement.

You should also consult a lawyer about having your sister account for the funds in the account you both were on. She should account for how the funds were used.

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.

You do not post enough facts here to enable an intelligent answer.

Who is the lawyer? The estate lawyer? The probate lawyer? Why was this done in a joint account? Why did your sister overdraw the account?

Too many questions here and your post does not describe what is really going on.

It seems to me that if there was a separate action for the personal injury to your father from asbestos, the lawyer handling the personal injury case should have received funds into his trust account. I don't know why separate checks could not be given to the heirs unless these funds were part of the estate for your father. Assuming that the probate estate was still open and the funds were to be paid to the probate estate, then they should have been deposited into the estate bank account.

How is it that your sister can overdraw an account? If the funds were in an estate account and your sister was the executor, then she has grossly mismanaged the estate if what you say is true. In that case, she should be removed.

I am loathe to accuse lawyers of malpractice without knowing all the facts but putting this into a joint bank account with access by both parties seems kind of dumb. I would be questioning the attorney who set this up to find out why it was done this way.

However, the lawyer cannot be held responsible for your sister's actions - the lawyer may not have known that your sister would act irresponsibly. You are going to have to get your own lawyer (neither the estate lawyer, if there is one or asbestos personal injury lawyer can assist you) unfortunately to get some kind of accounting from your sister and sue her for misappropriation of your share of the funds unless she has the money and can return it.

Not sure what kind of lawyer you would need - it would either be a probate litigation lawyer or general civil litigation lawyer who understands the proper disposition of funds from a decedent's estate where the death was caused by asbestos.