Can I change lawyers for a contested estate matter?
Question: “I hired a different law firm to handle a contested Will. But I’m not happy. What should I do?”
Answer:
It is unfortunate but it can happen, a lawyer who is meant to be Administering a Deceased Estate acts negligently in fulfilling their duties.
When this occurs the people who most keenly feel the effect of this negligence are the beneficiaries named in the Will of the deceased. This is because negligence can delay the distribution of your inheritance, as well as impacting on the amount of inheritance you receive.
Negligent actions can include a failure to administer the Estate in a timely manner, by ensuring a Grant of Probate is applied for in the set time period or, by ensuring that the beneficiaries receive their inheritance within a reasonable period of time. Other issues can include fraudulent misuse of the funds of the Estate, as well as a failure to properly deal with any challenges to the Estate.
Negligence by a lawyer in Administering an Estate can be corrected and the impact minimised if you, as an Executor, or beneficiary of the Estate, act quickly and firmly. If you have concerns about the way a deceased Estate has been administered, the best thing to do is to seek legal advice from an expert Wills and Estates lawyer on what can be done to allow the Estate to recover from the negligence.
An expert Wills and Estates Lawyer is someone with the experience and knowledge to understand and best handle the Administration of a deceased Estate, as well as advise and assist if the Administration of the Estate has been negligent in the past.
Graeme Heckenberg, at Northern Beaches Lawyers, is an expert in his field and has been practicing only in Wills and Estates Law for over 25 years so he has the experience to assist you in the Administration of deceased Estates.
If you need advice on the Administration of a deceased Estate, or advice on whether the Administration of a deceased Estate has been negligent, then you need to seek legal advice from an Expert Wills & Estates Lawyer. You need to speak to the expert lawyers at Northern Beaches Lawyers – We specialise in Wills & Estate Law and pride ourselves on our open and honest communication with clients.
