Bellingham, WA asked in Estate Planning for Oregon

Q: If my father passed away in Oregon, do I have to use a lawyer in that state?

I am working with an attorney in Oregon who is making things very difficult. My dad died with a will, this attorney is making me call her before I write a check to pay any bill. Also wants her office address on the checks and bank account so that all statements go to her. Just seems like a lot of work, handled my mom's estate when she passed and was able to pay bills as they came in and keep receipts.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Theressa Hollis
Theressa Hollis
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like your father's probate is in Oregon so you need to have an attorney who is licensed in Oregon. However, you get to choose who you hire. If you and your current attorney are not working well together then you have every right to choose someone else to represent you. Also, many (most?) attorneys in Oregon do not require the estate checkbook to be held by the attorney. Nothing in Oregon law requires you to call your attorney before you pay an estate creditor.

Joanne Reisman
Joanne Reisman
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: 1. If the probate is filed in Oregon then only an Attorney licenses in Oregon can work with an Oregon Probate Court.

2. You are free to fire your Attorney at any time and hire another one. The new Attorney files a substitution of counsel pleading with the court. Do consider that this can increase the cost because the new Attorney will need to spend time coming up to speed so there is some duplication. The first Attorney will still file a fee Petition with the probate court.

3. Some Attorneys do want to supervise the management of the estate bank account. However, if you are bonded this shouldn't be a big deal. If you are serving without bond it can be a bit more of a risk. But calling her seems ridiculous. Why can't you just send an email? I usually would not require this but I would require the checks the be with my office address and the statements to be sent to my office. If the Attorney is billing for all these calls it is unnecessarily increasing the Attorney's fees. I could object to this being charged when the Attorney files their Petition for fees.

4. How come the banking isn't being done on line????

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