Q: I filed breach of contract against my business partner in October 2016, literally a few days before pre trial he died.
His family came and took all of the company's assets, records, and inventory. I was only notified of his death at pre-trial. By the time I got to office it was empty. I am representing myself because he took all the company's money out of account and changed locks on office and left me penniless as I had invested everything in company. The family opened probate and filed statement that he had 500,000.00 in real property and 24,000.00 in cash and 46,000.00 in debts. My question what does that mean "fair market value of real property". I'm suing for 250k. And want to get a lawyer. Is the real property a viable source of payment for that amount? What would I tell a lawyer in 1st consultation to quickly find out if they would take the case on contingency?
A:
Dear Valley Center:
"Fair market value" means the value of the property if it were sold on the open market, to a third party, at an arms length transaction. However, the value listed on a Petition for Probate (where I assume you are getting the numbers from) may or may not be accurate. The purpose of asset valuation on the Petition is to set the representative's bond but has no other real purpose. Good probate attorneys will use a value based on Zillow and other web valuation sites. However, pro pers (and even some attorneys) will just use a best guess approach.
The important thing is that you need to file a creditor's claim and substitute in the estate as the Defendant. If you fail to file the creditor's claim by the deadline (normally four months after Letters issue to the representative, although if you receive a Notice to Creditors it might be slightly longer.) Yes, you should get an attorney to help you with this process.
What should you tell an attorney if you are seeking contingency representation? Well, the truth of course. If I were evaluation the case for contingency representation, and given the you handled the matter pro per (self represented) and were at the eve of trial, I would want to review your entire file in the matter in addition to hearing your side of the story.
I would recommend that you consult with an attorney right away, an attorney who does business law and knows probate procedure. If you do not know where to find an attorney, you can try your local county bar association. Most county bar associations run attorney referral services, where for a small or no fee, you receive a 30 minute to one hour consultation. (This varies by county.)
Best of luck.
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