Question for lawyers and the like:

[Bunny]

Can you force a reading of a will? A friend of mine lost his mother this past January. His brother is the executor of her estate. There has not yet been a reading of the will, and my friend suspects that his brother is selling off her stuff and keeping the proceeds. She didn't have a lot of money or stuff, so there's not a substantial fortune at stake or anything. It's more the principle of the thing that has my friend mad. We're in PA if that matters.

And yes, I know that he will ultimately need to talk to a lawyer if he gets serious about taking action. I'm just posting here to get a general idea of what the law requires.

[flvegan]

1. Has a Probate case been opened?

Everything pretty much goes from there, I think. And yes, he needs a lawyer. Probates suck.

[Bunny]

2. I don't think action of any sort has been taken.

Is there a way I could find that out?

[trof]

3. I'm not an attorney, but I DID stay in a Holiday Inn last night.

But seriously, folks...
Most states have laws/rules/guidelines for the duties of an executor.
And one usually is that ALL HEIRS should receive a copy of the will.
I have been an executor and that's what I did.

Tell your friend to ask his brother for a copy of the will.
The "reading of the will" is pretty much movie stuff.
If the brother refuses to fork over, I believe he can be required to by law.

Check with your local probate judge's office or maybe secretary of state's office.
It's probably online.

[Bunny]

5. I'm going to call the County Register of Wills tomorrow.

Thanks, trof! :hi:

[trof]

7. Hey, that's what I'm here for.

;-)

[MrCoffee]

4. If the brother refuses to hand over the will, your friend needs a lawyer

[Bunny]

6. Yeah, I think no good can come of this situation.

Too bad it has to get ugly, especially since the total monetary assets are not really that great.

[Jim Lane]

8. How did the brother get to be the executor?

Unfortunately, this is an area of the law where differences among states can be significant, so what I tell you may be useless. In New York, an executor would be appointed only if a will is admitted to probate. That means that someone says "This piece of paper here is So-and-so's will." There has to be a proceeding to establish that judicially -- it's not the will just because a relative says it is. Then, if it's found valid, the court will appoint as executor the person(s) named to that post in the will, unless there's some particular reason not to.

The decedent's son would be entitled to see the purported will so he could decide if he wanted to raise any objection (that's not the will, that's not her signature, the text has been altered, she wasn't of sound mind when she signed it, etc.). Your post suggests that your friend has never seen the supposed will, which I don't understand.

Once the court appoints an executor, the executor must marshall the assets (figure out what the decedent owned) and make reports.

[Bunny]

9. Well, the brother declared himself to be the executor. He was living

with his mother at the time of her death, and it was assumed by my friend that the brother was named executor. It's likely that their mother would have appointed him as executor. The brother keeps dodging the question about what's to be done with her house and other stuff. My friend has never seen the will. Thanks for your help!

[Hosnon]

12. I'm not 100% but I don't think someone can declare himself executor. It is usually laid out in the

will or the court will appoint someone.

[Bunny]

13. That's what I'm finding out. I guess my friend assumes that his

brother was named by their mother as executor, and he's wondering why the brother hasn't filed the will for probate yet. Thanks!

[rug]

10. Go to the Orphans' Court in your county.

The staff will be helpful if you don't have a lawyer.

[Bunny]

11. I called the Register of Wills in our County.

No will has yet been filed. So, at least we know that much. Next step is to contact the lawyer that we believe drew up the will, and see what he says. Thanks!

[WolverineDG]

14. Also check your state's intestacy laws

just in case Mom didn't leave a will.

dg

[Bunny]

15. Thanks, I will do that if it becomes necessary.

We know for sure that she wrote a will, but it was many years ago and we don't know if it was superceded by a newer one or not.