Oconee County, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Who is responsible? For what? If he owed Aunt money and she wants to sue the people who took his belongings for the smaller of fair market value of what they took or the amount owed, she can do that, but it will be time-consuming and expensive.

I am not certain what the rules are in your state, but in Indiana, all beneficiaries under a will have to be given notice of the probate process. However, if your uncle is the executor, and the will allows for him to sell assets, then he can do so. However, you would be entitled to half the net proceeds of the sale. You can also choose to purchase the home from the estate, if you wish to stay in it. You should consult with a probate attorney in your area to be certain all rules and procedures are being followed.

I'm not exactly clear on what your question is, but it appears to relate to how you could step in as successor trustee of the trust. Unfortunately, there's no way to answer that question without a lot more information that can be provided in this kind of forum.   The first place to start when figuring out who becomes successor trustee of a trust when a serving trustee stops serving is the document that actually creates and contains the terms of the trust, plus any later documents that might have affected the trust's terms. Since the attorneys are trying to find your grandfather's Will, I assume that the Will is what created the trust. If that Will was filed for probate (in NY or elsewhere), then the probate court should be able to provide a copy, although if it was filed in 1972 it can take a while for them to pull up that record, so hopefully it will eventually turn up. If the Will was not filed for probate, then it may be that a separate document created the trust- in that case, you'd need to get a copy of that document (hopefully your father had one). If the trust was created in part by state law, however, you'll need to see what the applicable law said.   If whatever document controls the trust does not provide for a successor Trustee and does not address the question of how to select one if one is not named, then you will need to look to applicable state law (which may actually be NY law if the trust was created by a NY Will, even if the trustee and beneficiaries are all in GA and the trust was being managed here), and figure out how to make it happen. A court petition may be required, and you'll need to figure out what is required for that petition to be filed and granted.   If there are already attorneys involved (it sounds like there are), then you should let them figure things out. If at some point it looks like they aren't figuring it out, then you can hire a different attorney. I recommend hiring an attorney who works with fiduciary litigation as well as general trust and estate administration- that kind of attorney is most likely to have the experience and knowledge needed to help you figure out what needs to happen and get it done.   Best wishes to you.