Q: My father died without a Will, we were appointing PR to the attorney. However, one sibling is refusing to do
anything (she stated that her and her husband make plenty of money, so she was going to make this as difficult as possible on the rest of us). She truly has mental problems and has been seeing a psychiatrist for years. She refuses to to anything, including giving the attorney PR. What recourse do we have? There are 4 of us and the 3 of us are all onboard.
A:
The question is posted in Maryland but mentions a Pennsylvania location. I'll presume that the estate is in Maryland.
In this state, the law lists people with priority to serve as Personal Representative. If there is no Will, close relatives (spouse, then children, etc.) have priority to serve in this role. If someone without priority (e.g., an attorney or friend) files a Petition and someone with priority (e.g., a child of the deceased) objects, the court / Register of Wills typically sets the matter in for a hearing.
The post mentions an attorney -- the attorney should be able to explain what stage of the process things are in and what options might exist in a particular estate.
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