OT:Inheritance, freind getting shafted by bro/sis., how to ensure it's fair split?? Options

[Mueller]

Got a close family member that lost his parents not too long ago (old age, lived a great life)


His brother has taken over as the excective of state (correct term???), he has a few sisters(4) as well....

Problem is is that the brother and 2 sisters are gaining access to the bank accounts, the property and no one but them is really knowing how much and where the money is going (in thier damn greedy hands)

Parents net value supposed to be in the low 7 digit area, the brother and sisters have for years sucked money from thier parents and had them buy homes for them in the LA area, my friend works his @ss off and never asked for money from his parents...


The reason I'm pissed off is that my friend works 2 jobs to make ends meet, is getting up there in age (55) and won't put up a fight to get what should be fairly coming to him. The
Will is being read this weekend, but we have a feeling he'll get just a "token" amount in the $50K range when his other siblings will be walking away with close to a million or so when all the property is sold off and the multiple bank accounts have been cleared out.

We know the Will mentions a specific bank account for each sibling, the issue is is that the mother had multiple accounts for herself that keep popping up yet no mention of what to do with the funds...so, good old brother and sister will be keeping it for sure....


He won't put up a fight and it just irks us to no end seeing his own brothers and sisters screwing him over (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/headbang.gif)

This is in California if that makes a difference on whether or not we can make waves on his behalf.....

[carreraguy]

I'm not a lawyer but due to my own experiences with deceased relatives, I have some experience with CA estate planning, wills, trusts etc.

Who is "reading the will" to all concerned? I assume it's the most recent decedent's attorney. If your friend is the executor of his parent's estate then he should be very familar with the terms of the will. Assuming there was not a living trust in place, there should be more than one will too; one for each parent. "Usually", the first to die wills everything to the surviving spouse and that spouse when he/she dies wills it to his/her relatives. Of course there are permutations to this if all of the children did not share the same parents; i.e. the first to die could will assets to his/her children from another marraige. Regarding how his parent's financial matters were handled (or mishandled) previously, there's likely nothing that can be done if he does not wish to pursue it; IMHO this is a smart move on his part. Your friend will be able to draw executor fees when the estate is probated. If I was him I would become very familar with his responsibilities as executor. In the extreme, if he desires, he can also decline to serve as executor and ask that another person be appointed.

It's too late now, but if the estate was valued in the low seven figures, there should have been a living trust in place to save the estate the expense/delay/hassle of probate and to lessen the tax bite (in some cases).