How much time for a lawyer to bring a will to court ?
March 26, 2022 6:47 PM Subscribe
I paid a lawyer to bring a will to court five weeks ago. There has been little progress.
This is in Washington state, USA. The original will is not available. There are three people who can declare that the copy of the will is likely the same as the original. The relatives of the deceased have no objection to the will. The deceased was single with no children. The beneficiaries are well known charities. The estate is an investment account and a house.
I assumed this would be a quick and easy process. The lawyer doesn't care about my concern. What should I do ?
This is in Washington state, USA. The original will is not available. There are three people who can declare that the copy of the will is likely the same as the original. The relatives of the deceased have no objection to the will. The deceased was single with no children. The beneficiaries are well known charities. The estate is an investment account and a house.
I assumed this would be a quick and easy process. The lawyer doesn't care about my concern. What should I do ?
I practice law, and I'm sorry to say that this may not be unusually slow. However, you are entitled to honest estimates from them based on what they know about the court system and the busyness of their own practice. You should have a lawyer who you feel comfortable calling or emailing to ask for progress updates and who provides meaningful ones. Generally I try to send people's expectations up front about how long things will take, which is generally a very long time because of the scheduling in our court system.
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:34 PM on March 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:34 PM on March 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
The simple straightforward probate process I was involved with took several months, well before the courts were backed up and short staffed due to operating in a still-ongoing pandemic. The time frame here doesn't sound unusual to me. This may just be what a quick and easy probate looks like - months instead of years, not weeks instead of months.
But you should be getting reasonable communication from your lawyer, so go right ahead and push for a timeline or details about what has to happen before a timeline is available. Or shop around for another lawyer.
posted by Stacey at 7:38 PM on March 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
But you should be getting reasonable communication from your lawyer, so go right ahead and push for a timeline or details about what has to happen before a timeline is available. Or shop around for another lawyer.
posted by Stacey at 7:38 PM on March 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
My probate process took 2-4mos.
In one circumstance, if I didn't fly to the origin state of the will, to speak to probate in person, nothing would've been done (due to the state's difficult bureaucratic organization - the major city of origin had struggling infrastructure, some days no one would answer the phone) Pre-covid.
Don't be afraid to take extra initiative and ask extra questions.
posted by firstdaffodils at 7:44 PM on March 26, 2022
In one circumstance, if I didn't fly to the origin state of the will, to speak to probate in person, nothing would've been done (due to the state's difficult bureaucratic organization - the major city of origin had struggling infrastructure, some days no one would answer the phone) Pre-covid.
Don't be afraid to take extra initiative and ask extra questions.
posted by firstdaffodils at 7:44 PM on March 26, 2022
My family member, a lawyer in Los Angeles, says basic probate is taking two years currently -- that's with no hiccups, nobody disputing anything. It's because of understaffing, the pandemic, and simply the overwhelming amount of legal business that happens in a big city. YMMV.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:23 PM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:23 PM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
lookoutbelow is giving you really good advice.
I think you have to make a distinction as to whether the lawyer involved has filed the paper work with the court and you are waiting on it to be reviewed/heard by a judge and the delay is one caused by slow courts or if the lawyer hasn't completed the paperwork and submitted it. There are going to be delays that are under their control and ones that are not.
Your lawyer should be able to communicate this in a straightforward manner to you and give you a timeline and if they are not I would consider it a poor sign.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 7:31 AM on March 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
I think you have to make a distinction as to whether the lawyer involved has filed the paper work with the court and you are waiting on it to be reviewed/heard by a judge and the delay is one caused by slow courts or if the lawyer hasn't completed the paperwork and submitted it. There are going to be delays that are under their control and ones that are not.
Your lawyer should be able to communicate this in a straightforward manner to you and give you a timeline and if they are not I would consider it a poor sign.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 7:31 AM on March 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you to everyone for your responses.
posted by llc at 11:35 AM on March 27, 2022
posted by llc at 11:35 AM on March 27, 2022
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I didn't practice probate law, so I can't give you any feedback in that realm, however, you should always be able to share your concerns and be heard by your attorney. You are paying them for a service and you should be told if there are any unforeseen delays or problems.
posted by furtheryet at 7:30 PM on March 26, 2022