Attorney fails to disclose Fees and probate cost to 90 & 92 couple

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Pepper

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In December 2007 my dad was 92 and my mom 90. They live in New York State. They called a lawyer to look over there wills and they showed him a list of all their assets of Approx $700,000.

(1) The attorney recommended they each revised their wills a "Supplemental Needs Trust" and divide their asset $350,000 each. He wrote a 3 or 4 page letter stating how this would protect assets from long term nursing home cost.

(2) However what the attorney failed to disclose and explain to them and we only found out after my dad died was by revising their wills with "Supplement Need Trust" (A) The Attoney created a Probate and all my parents asset would be subject to legal fees at time of death from 3% to 5% the value and probate fees. (B) For a Supplemental Needs Trust" to have any benefits to them at all at their age they would have to be in a nursing home for years and use up Approx $350,000 of their assets first to Nursing Home cost before Supplement Needs Trust to any benefit

(3) My parents let him revised their wills with the Supplemental Neeed Trust in December 2007 not knowing anything about the 3 -5 % legal fees charged to assets plus probate cost at death because he revised their wills with a Supplemental Needs Trust. My father died in early March 2008.

(4) After my dad died the attorney met with My sister, mom and he had on a sheet of paper my dad assets of $350,000 he would charge a legals of 3% to 5% = approx $14,000 in legal fee plus probate fees because of the Supplement needs trust. Finding this out after my dad died was very upsetting and we all feel used by him for failing to disclose this before he revised the wills with the Supplemental Needs Trust.

(5) My parents would have never done the Supplement Needs Trust had he disclose the fees and probate.

(6) My sister, mother and I all feel the attorney had an obligation and a duty to explain the fees and cost of probate at death before he revised the wills with a the Supplemental Need trust as this was a very important fact. He is claiming no he did not need to tell us about probate and his fees at time of death because of the supplement needs trust.

(7) Now we feel trapped with probate and pressured to pay his fees if we want to settle my dads estate.
 
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