Q: How do I know if a lawyer is mishandling an estate case? Person passed away in 2015, still not settled.
My great Aunt passed away July 2015. The first issue was that her lawyer lived in CT, while she lived in NYC (Stuyvesant Town). So per NY law, the CT lawyer arranged for a NY lawyer to handle the estate. However, before they could go over all the details, the CT lawyer passed away suddenly in Dec of that year. My Aunt had a rent stabilized apartment, so no property was owned, but thought diversification meant spreading her bank accounts across NYC. Each time we hear from the lawyer, we’re advised it’s still a Partial Disbursement but that the it’s not the last one. In December we questioned & was advised, no, it’s not done yet. The executor of the estate is afraid to contact the lawyer as she believes every time she asks the lawyer will tack on his bill for just picking up the phone. Our concern is that the Executors health is not the best either. So we’d like for this to be settled before anything happens to her & causes more hiccups. It’s been over 6 years. Should we be concerned?
A: Yes. This is a long time. You should bring a proceeding for an accounting and to compel distribution.
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