Any lawyers or probate experienced on here

My Cousin died and my kids received money from her estate. I’m the oldest living relative and we’ve finally gotten around to trying to hire probate lawyer for her other assets. Originally he said he could do it for $5,000 or less. Now we’ve received a letter stating that if her estate exceeds levels of money they get percentage of that too is that normal? I’m not suing for a botched surgery or a traffic accident. What does this have to do with searching for a will and court system judgements leading to estate being settled? I know it’s all about money but that seems more like robbery than anything else.

 

What does this have to do with 1st gen Tacomas?

 

Wrong section.

 

https://www.legaladvice.com/

 

You're better off not having to go through probate if possible but it looks like maybe the trust/will was not setup prior. Could be an expensive lesson. Good luck.

 

Try another lawyer, don’t tell the new one about the old one until you get a quote. Get a quote in writing.
Ask friends or your banker for a reference ?

 

No idea if it's normal, but having handled my grandmothers probate, I can say the procedure was different depending on the amount of assets involved. Basically, what I saw was the more the assets, the more involved was the process.

So, I am guessing the layers are upping their fees based on some additional filings needed. By going after a percentage, they are implementing a sliding scale based on what they think the estate can afford.

I am sure this varies by state, so my experience may not be relevant to your situation. Get a second estimate.

 

Sorry about putting it here but I’m kind of in a spot currently and don’t know what to do. Really wish I wasn’t in this spot However I do have a first generation 2003 Tacoma TRD and hate that my Cousin has passed. If, and that is a big if we receive any money from her estate I will be using some of the money to fix my trucks rusted frame. Love the truck wanna fix it it really don’t have the money required at this point to do a frame replacement. Also and again I’m sorry but who would even look at this post in a more correct forum? Need assistance my 1st generation brethren! Thanks for info received so far and any hopefully in the near future!

 

my wife spent years doing probate work at a law firm in Dallas. always flat fee, never any percentage unless there's an unusually complex structure of things, which would not at all be common in a case like this. the law firm she was at does only probate work nowadays, and they run nearly exclusively on flat fees unless there's corporate or other entities involved.

 

Just surprised that at first it was $5,000 or less now it’s dig in like a tick and suck you dry event. What happened to doing the probate for the fee mentioned? How is this how justice and the courts system is done? Uncle Sam gets his followed by this guy and then Us. We had her shipped to where we live and buried with her relatives. That cost us out of our own pocket more than we can afford. Really don’t wanna get taken by this guy. However he may be on the up and up I don’t know. Just seems wrong and should be the flat fee agreed upon. It shouldn’t however be an as much he wants to charge robbery that I signed permission to inflict on myself. I’ll stop whining but this is getting expensive.

 

Don't know the details, but it can get very complicated for a variety of reasons.

And if you are making a claim on a cousin's (i.e not a direct lineage) estate, then it sounds... complicated.

Get multiple quotes as previously mentioned, ask lots of questions, and go with what you think is best.

Example, have someone who is trying to get a grandparent's house in her name. She has to prove that all other relatives are either deceased or are willing to waive their claim via affidavit.

 

Sounds like you need to fire this attorney if you aren’t already under contract with him.