Q: After my mom died, my brother took money out of her bank acct. so she would not qualify for probate, is that legal ?
Mom lived in Kansas and died May 29, 2019 and my brother on May 30th as executor took over $ 130,000 out of her bank . My mom made it so we were able to write checks for her, that's how he took her money after she died. He has now told us that she did't qualify for probate. He is also refusing to respect her codicil because she didn't sign it, although it was with her will. Her lawyer here in Washington said she didn't need to sign it . He refuses to tell his 3 brothers, all heirs to the estate what he has been doing with her belongings, although we have seen one item promised to our son in the codicil at my brothers sons house hanging on the wall. He's giving things away. Saw it on facebook. Probate needs to be filed but he plans on distributing money to the heirs at the end of this month. He will not tell anyone what happened to the rest of her money . He thinks he is accountable to no one. Is there anything we can do ? The Will says to be divided up equally between the 4 sons.
A: Yes, you can open probate yourself and petition to be appointed personal representative yourself. You can then require him to deliver all estate assets to you for proper distribution, including the money he stole from her bank account. You will need a probate attorney to help you with this.
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