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My sister and I took a trip to So.Calif. after our father passed away. Before leaving I was in touch with a Mr. McCullough, our dad's lawyer. He stated that he had no idea of dad's last wishes, if there was a will or the state of his assets.Taking this trip was a huge hardship for us both but he stated we needed to come and see to his affairs. We later found the will that Mr. McCullough and our father had drawn up just a month before his passing. In it were his last wishes for burial,the lawyers exclusive responsibility, the division of his estate, which was all left to a woman he was having a relationship with on the internet. in addition, our dad was living in squallor and filth, of which the lawyer admitted to knowing of. Upon returning home we sent him a bill for our expenses, time spent doing his dirty work and a complaint to the BAR. He then agreed to pay us back. Now he is stating he needs permission to repay. From whom? Is this not a personal debt incurred by his own deception?

Submitted: 39 days and 22 hours ago.
Category: Estate Law
Value: $30
Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION
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State/Country relating to question: California

Posted by PaulmoJD 39 days and 22 hours ago.

Answer

If you sent him a bill for your expenses incurred on behalf of the estate, the bill would have to be approved by the probate court probating the will, which is the approval he is talking about. He is not personally liable for the bill unless he agreed in writing to be personally liable for the bill. Thus, you need to keep on top of this with the probate court to ensure you receive payment and you should send another bill addressed to the executor of the estate.

It was not his deception, since he could not disclose information to someone who was not an heir of the estate based upon attorney client privilege (he represents the estate and not non-heirs). While to someone in your situation this seems ridiculous, to the bar and under the rules of professional conduct, it is not.

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39 days and 21 hours ago.

Reply

Mr. McCullough IS the executor and special administrator of the estate and my sister and I were left $5000. each in the will. I believe we had the right to know what he knew. He stated to me when we were in So.Calif. , when I asked what to do about the squatters on the property, "you are the boss, do what you like..." They burglarized the house and we were made to deal with that too. As well as the utilities, the city code people and the banks, not to mention that dad died in the house in 100+ degree weather that we had to dig through to find the will! He wrote my sister back, stating he would pay for our trip and expenses incurred. The BAR seemed quite interested in these facts, among others of misconduct. There was no real reason for us to go there...Mr.McCullough lives, and was in town at the time we were, just a couple of miles from where dad passed. They were personal friends....

Posted by PaulmoJD 39 days and 21 hours ago.

Answer

If this is the case, then you need to continue to pursue the matter with the bar. As the executor, he can seek to pay the expenses from the estate for which he needs permission from the court. His letter may be considered ambiguous and not incurring any personal liability for payment, so this is why you need to file another bill with the estate. You can also continue to pursue him through the bar. Your alternative is to sue him personally and you would have to prove the letter he sent was a personal obligation to pay the debt of the estate, but you would have to sue in CA where he is located.

39 days and 21 hours ago.

Reply

yes, I'm telling the truth...every time I approached the subject of the will he side stepped my questions with" don't worry, you and your sister are in the will. Now can you go do this and that for me....I'll have to dig the will out to tell you about it, just get these things done for me and we'll move forward..." No mention that what we were doing for him was clearly stated in the will as HIS responsibility.AND the stipulation that if anyone in the will contested, that person would be shut out entirely. Only when we told him we found the will in dad's house did he cease all communication with us and now we deal with his lawyer. How do I go about informing the estate of the bill? Write to the court in Palm Springs?

Accepted Answer

You need to get the probate case number from the clerk of the probate court, which you can do by calling the probate court clerk and asking to pull the case by name. Then send the bill to the clerks office for filing with the case number on it and a letter requesting the bill be submitted into the case file. If the clerk refuses to accept the bill (some clerks do, some do not) then you would have to file a motion in the probate case for payment (meaning you would need another attorney to do it). You need to also send a copy of the bill to HIS lawyer, as evidentally even though he is the executor he has an attorney representing the estate. This is why people get so frustrated with estate cases because of these games played if not by the executor it is by the heirs, but no matter it is frustrating and you just need to be patient and persistent.

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Expert: PaulmoJD
Pos. Feedback: 99.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 10/14/2009

Attorney

Experienced in Trust and Succession Law, including Louisiana Laws

39 days and 20 hours ago.

Reply

Thank you so much for your time. If I have any more issues with this man can I contact you since you already have some of the backround info? My sister and I, up till now have had a hard time getting any help. I will accept your answer and give positive feed back for your help.

Sincerely,

Kelly Seaton

Posted by PaulmoJD 39 days and 20 hours ago.

Answer

Thank you and you can return here for any follow up questions and I will be glad to assist.

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