Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Puerto Rico
Lawyer's responsibilty
When my father died 3 years ago the attorney who drew his will did not notify me either by mail or phone. She was told how to reach me.In his will he had indicated his desire that his second home (both his name and my mom names appear on the deed)be sold and the money be distributed among my mom and his siblings,(I have seen an attorney in PA and was told nothing can be done to undo this sale of the house). In the will he had put me as his excutor and even than this attorney did not notyfy me. Because of this the house was sold by my sister using a power of attorney my mom had sign, 2 years after his death), his estate had not been settle yet even till this day. There has been several meetings which I was not notify. I gave my aunt(who lives in P.R) a power of attorney to represent me in P.R. and she also has never been notified even though the attorney has her phone# and address.Is there any legal action I can take against this attorney for not notifying me about the will he had left and the reading of the will as one of his siblings, everyone else in the family had been notify,(my family and I haven't spoken since my dad died) the attorney claims she ask my family to notify me but they never did even though she has my #&address.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Lawyer's responsibilty
Your situation is extremely complicated. I do not think that it is appropriate to address this kind of situation on this system because of its complexity.
However, you must first indicate the state in which the will was drawn. That is required so that the law applicable to the will is determined. Secondly, you must indicate the place in which the second house, the one that was sold, is. That information is necessary to determine if your sister was capable of selling the house with a power of attorney. I would venture to predict that the sale was invalid. It would also help to know who was the buyer of the house, and the origin of the house. The buyer could be a non "bona fide" buyer. The origin is also necessary to determine whether your mother could authorize the sale of the house to begin with. That is a big question mark in that deal.
Finally, you must understand that there are serious implications for the notary that wrote the will.
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