My father passed away nearly 8 months ago. A few months before he passed away one of my half-sisters (his stepchild) got power of attorney, financial & medical.
Dad took one of many falls in a nursing home that caused a brain bleed, resulting in a coma. The brain bleed ultimately led to his death.
One week before Dad's passing my half-sister gave the hospital permission to insert a gastrostomy feeding tube; actually I believe she insisted on it, even though the primary care doctor had informed her there was next to no hope of recovery. She did not inform the hospital that my father had a living will. Once I arrived at the hospital from out of state the half-sister left, telling me she was badly needed back at work in another state. Instead she traveled to Dad's hometown, created a "Special Care Trust" and removed a substantial amount of Dad's savings into that trust.
Once I was at the hospital and up to speed on what the situation really was, I informed the hospital of the living will and had the power of attorney for it transferred to me. I was listed second on it and since she had shown herself to be "unwilling or unable" to abide by Dad's wishes, it wasn't too hard to do. I had the forced feedings stopped and Dad moved to the palliative care unit where he was made comfortable and allowed to pass peacefully. Having had many conversations with my Dad about it, I know I did right by him.
In Dad's town for the funeral I had contact with a reliable source that informed me of several discrepancies concerning Dad's finances dating back to 2009 when that half-sister and another one started "helping" Dad manage his money. To keep them honest, I started asking questions and wasn't liking the answers I was getting. Things just weren't adding up. Half-sister also refused to give me any details of about the trust, even though as a beneficiary I had a right to know.
Two months after Dad passed I hired an attorney when my fifth request for information from the half-sister was ignored. The attorney was finally able to wrangle an accounting of the finances out of the half-sister's (estate) attorney, which showed exactly what I thought it would show, a lot of "iffy" stuff. Amongst other things, like paying herself to attend his funeral, half-sister removed $6,500 from Dad's savings account the night BEFORE he passed, but didn't deposit it into the trust until nearly a week later which coincidently happened to be the same day she accused me of hiring an attorney to contest his will (I hadn't).
At first I loved the attorney I hired. He and his staff were very helpful and friendly. He was able to get me some answers, keeping the half-sister honest and put a stop to the harassment I was getting from all my half-siblings once it became known that I had hired one. I asked the attorney to continue to represent my interests until the estate closed and to get me three answers concerning the estate. At that point he transferred my case from his litigation paralegal to his estate paralegal. That's when everything stopped.
The estate paralegal does not communicate with me or gives me vague answers. Of the three questions I asked, one has been answered. To make matters worse, harassment from one of the half-sisters has started up again.
I'm not sure what to do at this point. I still have retainer money banked with the attorney, I don't understand why they are suddenly blowing me off. I tried being firm but not rude with the paralegal and it got me no where. At this point I don't even know if my father's estate has closed. Yes, I know how to check the county clerks office's webite, but was told by them that it can sometimes take up to two weeks for the website to update.
I have consired emailing the attorney directly instead of going through the paralegal.
Please advise.
Dad took one of many falls in a nursing home that caused a brain bleed, resulting in a coma. The brain bleed ultimately led to his death.
One week before Dad's passing my half-sister gave the hospital permission to insert a gastrostomy feeding tube; actually I believe she insisted on it, even though the primary care doctor had informed her there was next to no hope of recovery. She did not inform the hospital that my father had a living will. Once I arrived at the hospital from out of state the half-sister left, telling me she was badly needed back at work in another state. Instead she traveled to Dad's hometown, created a "Special Care Trust" and removed a substantial amount of Dad's savings into that trust.
Once I was at the hospital and up to speed on what the situation really was, I informed the hospital of the living will and had the power of attorney for it transferred to me. I was listed second on it and since she had shown herself to be "unwilling or unable" to abide by Dad's wishes, it wasn't too hard to do. I had the forced feedings stopped and Dad moved to the palliative care unit where he was made comfortable and allowed to pass peacefully. Having had many conversations with my Dad about it, I know I did right by him.
In Dad's town for the funeral I had contact with a reliable source that informed me of several discrepancies concerning Dad's finances dating back to 2009 when that half-sister and another one started "helping" Dad manage his money. To keep them honest, I started asking questions and wasn't liking the answers I was getting. Things just weren't adding up. Half-sister also refused to give me any details of about the trust, even though as a beneficiary I had a right to know.
Two months after Dad passed I hired an attorney when my fifth request for information from the half-sister was ignored. The attorney was finally able to wrangle an accounting of the finances out of the half-sister's (estate) attorney, which showed exactly what I thought it would show, a lot of "iffy" stuff. Amongst other things, like paying herself to attend his funeral, half-sister removed $6,500 from Dad's savings account the night BEFORE he passed, but didn't deposit it into the trust until nearly a week later which coincidently happened to be the same day she accused me of hiring an attorney to contest his will (I hadn't).
At first I loved the attorney I hired. He and his staff were very helpful and friendly. He was able to get me some answers, keeping the half-sister honest and put a stop to the harassment I was getting from all my half-siblings once it became known that I had hired one. I asked the attorney to continue to represent my interests until the estate closed and to get me three answers concerning the estate. At that point he transferred my case from his litigation paralegal to his estate paralegal. That's when everything stopped.
The estate paralegal does not communicate with me or gives me vague answers. Of the three questions I asked, one has been answered. To make matters worse, harassment from one of the half-sisters has started up again.
I'm not sure what to do at this point. I still have retainer money banked with the attorney, I don't understand why they are suddenly blowing me off. I tried being firm but not rude with the paralegal and it got me no where. At this point I don't even know if my father's estate has closed. Yes, I know how to check the county clerks office's webite, but was told by them that it can sometimes take up to two weeks for the website to update.
I have consired emailing the attorney directly instead of going through the paralegal.
Please advise.
