Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin
What happens to an attorneys file after he is deceased?
My parents had wills drawn up many years ago with an attorney they have now learned is deceased. They have their own copy of the will, but wonder who will now probate their estate. I have attempted to find out who may have taken over the attorney's caseload through the local bar association and State bar association to no avail. What does happen with people's legal files after an attorney passes? What would be my parents best course to take -- Keep trying to locate who took over his files, or just seek out the advice of a new attorney. They are in their 70's and I hate to see them having to incur addtional expenses at this point. Can they just contact an attorney and say ''here are our wills, would you handle the probate of our estate when the time comes''. Please give us some advice on the best, least expensive route to go. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: What happens to an attorneys file after he is deceased?
Although an attorney should make provisions as to what happens to client files upon his death or retirement, often that is left to chance. However, there is no reason why a person's estate needs to be handled by the attorney who drafted the will or his successor.
The personal representative has a right to select an attorney to represent the estate. Your parents may have another issue, and that is whether they have the originals of their wills. If not, they should see an attorney that could assure this necessary step gets completed. It would usually result in doing health care and financial powers of attorney at the same time.
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