Seeking percentage fee PROBATE LAWYER to review my case
Seeking percentage fee PROBATE LAWYER to review my case
I am a low income, SSI, disabled senior. My Father died and left $1.2M in money. The Court says there are only two heirs/parties: my cousin and myself.
My cousin, a convicted felon, took the money by manipulating and hiding documents and making a fake will. The Court says I need to fight the cousin and demand the following:
“Turnover Proceeding. If your Cousin stole property as opposed to money, your estate lawyer can bring a proceeding for turnover of the property.
Surcharge. Your lawyer can petition the court to surcharge your Cousin for the amount they screwed you out of. If your Cousin is the executor, then the court can surcharge his share of the estate, giving some or all of your Cousin’s share to you and the other beneficiaries. Surcharge here means charging the person who stole the money with having to return the money. It’s a legal term, used a little differently than the common way we use the word surcharge.
Accounting. The standard process in the Surrogate’s Court is to compel your Cousin to provide a formal accounting. Once your Cousin provides the accounting, the beneficiary has a chance to object to the accounting. If the court finds that your Cousin stole from the estate, the court will surcharge your Cousin. If your Cousin is also a beneficiary, the court will deduct the money from your Cousin’s share. If your Cousin is not a beneficiary, the court can surcharge them with the money they stole.
Bonding. There is an $800K bond on the Cousin who is an executor. A bond is a kind of insurance against executor theft. Make a claim against the bonding company if your Cousin is found to steal money or property but the money is impossible to recover from your Cousin.”
I need a lawyer who will file and prosecute the actions based on a percentage of the recovery fee. As you can see, I can easily pay the legal fees AFTER I get my inheritance from this. I cannot afford any more legal fees. I have a 90 page overview of the case produced by an investigator. I have spent my savings hiring online “probate services” but they never attended the hearings or filed proper filings. I need to get this up to speed. The cousin took my house and the cash already without it even being objected to in Court. The Court said I need a “real lawyer”. The matter is all in California. The cousin got the conservatorship and executor positions because he had a lawyer and I did not. Now the cousin is robbing the estate blind.