Lawyers: Will Executor question

[orange dream 1254]

A friend at work is the executor of his uncle's estate.

1. The deceased (in his 80s) was one of four siblings and never married, nor had any offspring that anyone in the family is aware of.

2. The will left 1/3 of assets to each of his two brothers (both now deceased), 1/6 to his sister and 1/6 to his "good friend" Jim Bob McGillicutty.

3. Stated that if any of the siblings predeceased him that their share was to go to Jim Bob.

4. No one knows exactly who Jim Bob actually is.

The sister (now in her 80s) who was getting the 1/6 share became his power of attorney 4 or 5 years ago when he was moved into a facility due to cognitive issues.

My friend suspects that the sister has been commingling funds, taking funds and other assets and providing them to her adult children, etc. over the years.  She has long been aware of the 1/6 share to her and remainder to friend Jim Bob situation since her other brothers had already died.

My friend is wondering what his duty as executor entails.  Is it just to take things as they existed at the time of his death and distribute them according to the will or does he have an obligation to investigate what he suspects happened and try to recover the assets that were "taken" back into the estate so that Jim Bob gets as much as possible. My friend doesn't stand to gain anything from this either way, he just wants to make sure he does what is required under his fiduciary duty. 

Lastly, what does he do to find Jim Bob? All it says in the will is the guy's name and what city he was from.  The will was executed in 2015.  It is not a large estate, probably 100k-250k range.

The deceased was living in a facility in Bexar County if it matters.

Any guidance would be helpful at this point.

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

Not a lawyer, but if the sister is not the executor then why does she have access to the portion of the estate that was not left to her?  It should have been held in the estate's name pending distribution I would think.

[orange dream 1254]

She has had power of attorney for the last few years of his life because of his cognitive issues.

[Jerry Callo 8704]

Your friend needs to hire an attorney for the estate.

[TwiceHorn 31491]

The executor has the power and discretion to sue on behalf of the estate, ie the deceased. If uncle could have sued while alive, then in most cases the executor can sue post-mortem.  Discretion may be the key word here.

It sounds like the attorney-in-fact (sister) may have breached her fiduciary duty under the POA.  If it was severe, ie a lot of money, and there's much chance of recovering some or all of it, that's something the executor can do.  The expenses are paid by the estate.

And yes, the executor should obtain an attorney at minimum to help with the Jim Bob issue.  The lawyer that files the probate is usually the executor's lawyer, because it is the executor who applies to probate the will in many or most cases.  

[orange dream 1254]

Does the lawyer need to be in Bexar? Executor is in Dallas.

[luke duke 6413]

Your friend needs to hire an attorney for the estate.

This is an excellent idea. This will ensure that there’s nothing left in the estate and he won’t have to bother looking for Jim Bob.

[royiv 9324]

Friend should change his name to Jim Bob.

[orange dream 1254]

11 hours ago, royiv said:

Friend should change his name to Jim Bob.

We did joke about this. Said he should name his prize bull Jim Bob and line up at the pay window.

[Jerry Callo 8704]

14 hours ago, orange dream said:

Does the lawyer need to be in Bexar? Executor is in Dallas.

The attorney will need to attend some in-person hearings.  Also, local knowledge of the probate court is a plus.  I would suggest getting a Bexar County attorney.

[UTPhil2006 3807]

12 hours ago, royiv said:

Friend should change his name to Jim Bob.

Was gonna say I’m not above changing my username and also real name to the assigned