Inadequate Remedies Dispute

An inadequate remedies probate dispute attorney can assist you if you believe that an inadequate remedy has occurred. If a beneficiary believes that the executor of the estate is paying high legal fees or has taken too big a commission as an executor, it might be time to hire an inadequate remedies lawyer in Philadelphia. An inadequate remedies attorney in Philadelphia will help you prepare to get this issue before the court.

First of all, the executor has to file the account officially in order to put that matter in front of the court. There are many different legal challenges associated with this, and that is why it is important to retain an attorney. You might hope that an executor would file an account in an allowed three months. However, if it seems like it's taking too much time, you need to hire a Philadelphia inadequate remedies attorney to help you.

The beneficiary might have to go to court to compel an accounting, for example. If the accounting is ultimately filed for adjudication, the beneficiary through the support of a Philadelphia probate dispute lawyer will file official objections to that accounting. This requires an attorney who is thoroughly experienced in reviewing these accounting materials and is well prepared to put together a legal pleading. This is your one-time opportunity, so it must be prepared correctly. The objections must cover everything. If you leave out any minor detail, it cannot be added at a later date and you can lose your opportunity to pursue it.

Then the executor, through his or her attorney, will have to respond to these objections. Bear in mind that an executor is well within his or her rights to use funds from the estate to pay for his or her attorney. Ultimately, if the judge determines that the executor has breached their fiduciary duty, then the funds paid out to an attorney might have to be paid for in person by the executor so that the funds can be replaced inside the estate. However, this is not guaranteed and depends on the individual outcome of your case. After this particular process has occurred, each party must get ready for litigation. This means discovery, producing records, documents, and statements on each side based on the individual accounting. There may also be motions associated with the litigation and it could be required for the beneficiary to hire experts including one or more expert witnesses to show that the executor did indeed breach his or her fiduciary duty. Remember that the beneficiary has to pay individually for these costs, and therefore it's beneficial to sit down at the outset and discuss whether or not it makes sense to file a case to begin with and what you can expect.

The support of your lawyer is instrumental in understanding the pros and cons of initiating such a case, and your lawyer will play a crucial role as the case unfolds in front of the court. You want to have all of the details organized well in advance in order to succeed with this. During this time, the executor will also hold all of the estate's assets and will make no distribution. Furthermore, the executor is not required to do so. The executor is eligible to hold back any estate distributions until the case has concluded. This means that the beneficiary can go through this legal process for years without getting anything from the estate and having to personally fund this litigation. Because of these complicating factors, you'll want to schedule a consultation with an attorney who has ample experience in this field.