Deborah
Gardendale,#2Author of original report
Fri, October 13, 2006
You are correct. There was a challenge to my capacity, however, all the claims by my "family" were proven to be totally false. It was proven that there were no unethical or illegal actions performs by me as executrix but were performed by most attorneys involved. I was not removed as executrix as the "familys" claims and slander had no validity and therefore could not be proven. I have no problem with the attorney who drafted my father's will. It is all the attorneys I had and the other heir's attorney who performed all the illegal and unethical actions and DID NOT honor my father's will or the laws. This allowed them to take a large portion of my father's estate from both myself and the other heir. And you are right, they all protect each other and there is nothing anyone can do to protect themselves from the attorneys. My father's will and power of attorney meant NOTHING! Never underestimate what "family" members will do to dishonor your will and power of attorney for MONEY. Even though these "family" members were not heirs in the will! If you want your assets to go to your children, or whoever, give it to them BEFORE you die or all the greedy members of your family will give it to the attorneys and the court, even if they were not mentioned in the will! NEVER underestimate what family members will do for MONEY! Wanted everyone to know so this will hopefully not happen to anyone else.
Tim
Valparaiso,#3Consumer Comment
Tue, October 10, 2006
Deborah, I may have came off as dismissive of your claims in my first rebuttal. That was not intentional. From the information you've given, it sounds like there has been some kind of challenge to your capacity to administer the estate, either mentally or ethically. But that's just the conclusion I draw from the information you've given. Without seeing the court file, I really have no idea what happened in your case. As for a legal malpractice case, you will likely have a problem with standing. You can't sue a lawyer for malpractice if he wasn't YOUR lawyer. The attorney who drafted the will was your father's lawyer, not yours, at least as regards the estate. As the executrix of the estate you would be able to prosecute claims on behalf of your father. But there seems to be a problem with your status as executrix, so you will likely have a hard time. It can also be difficult to find an attorney in one locale who will take a case against another attorney in the area. Lawyers depend on the relationships they have with one another and, in most cases, this benefits clients. But when you're pressing a malpractice claim, it can be a big stumbling block. I would advise you to seek counsel outside of your local area, but not so far away that it's impractical. Best of luck!
Deborah
Gardendale,#4Author of original report
Thu, October 05, 2006
In answer to Indiana......I am not aware of ANY challenge to the validity of the will. The will was drawn by a personal attorney friend of my father's whom I did not know nor had never met until my father called me to meet him at his friend's office to redo his will. It was also signed by several witnesses. My father's previous will was drawn up by my father's previous attorney in 1995 who also represented the other heir. (There were only two heirs.) I was executrix and had power of attorney on the will my father drew up with this previous attorney also. In answer to your second question......I was told by the other numerous attorneys that they would not handle legal malpractice cases against another attorney and did not know of anyone that would. I am curious how anyone could "jump to any conclusions" about the other side of the story unless they were involved in this case.
Deborah
Gardendale,#5Author of original report
Thu, October 05, 2006
In answer to Indiana......I am not aware of ANY challenge to the validity of the will. The will was drawn by a personal attorney friend of my father's whom I did not know nor had never met until my father called me to meet him at his friend's office to redo his will. It was also signed by several witnesses. My father's previous will was drawn up by my father's previous attorney in 1995 who also represented the other heir. (There were only two heirs.) I was executrix and had power of attorney on the will my father drew up with this previous attorney also. In answer to your second question......I was told by the other numerous attorneys that they would not handle legal malpractice cases against another attorney and did not know of anyone that would. I am curious how anyone could "jump to any conclusions" about the other side of the story unless they were involved in this case.
Deborah
Gardendale,#6Author of original report
Thu, October 05, 2006
In answer to Indiana......I am not aware of ANY challenge to the validity of the will. The will was drawn by a personal attorney friend of my father's whom I did not know nor had never met until my father called me to meet him at his friend's office to redo his will. It was also signed by several witnesses. My father's previous will was drawn up by my father's previous attorney in 1995 who also represented the other heir. (There were only two heirs.) I was executrix and had power of attorney on the will my father drew up with this previous attorney also. In answer to your second question......I was told by the other numerous attorneys that they would not handle legal malpractice cases against another attorney and did not know of anyone that would. I am curious how anyone could "jump to any conclusions" about the other side of the story unless they were involved in this case.
Tim
Valparaiso,#7Consumer Comment
Sun, October 01, 2006
I think I have a pretty good idea as to what the other side of this story is, but maybe you could answer a couple of questions for me before I jump to any conclusions. First, what was the nature of the challenge raised by your "extended family members" regarding the validity of the will? Second, what reason did the numerous lawyers that you spoke to give you for not wanting to take on your case?