Q: Does my sister have to give me my mother's(father died 3 months earlier) probate lawyers name?
In PA, I live in Florida. How can I protect my interests? How do I know what interests I actually have?
A: Yes, she should, unless she is trying to hide something. A Probate Attorney does not represent the beneficiaries but rather represents the Personal Representative and the Estate of the Deceased, this does not necessarily include the best interest of the beneficiaries. Therefore, you may or may not get many responses or much information from the attorney without your own representation by legal counsel. As a courtesy as well as a real obligation, any attorney doing a probate should keep all beneficiaries or possible beneficiaries or people with interests reasonably informed, this means sending you a copy of the Will and or inventory and or accounting and or regular and reasonable updates. If you are not being informed and being kept updated, then there is no doubt a potential issue that you would want to address and look into further. After 3 months you should receive some sort of an update (at least in Florida you would), but 3 months is really not that long of a time in the world of probate matters, therefore be aware of this. Furthermore, what is your relationship with your sister, is there reason for concern on your part or are you just being proactive on this matter (which is also wise)?
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