I've infrequently posted for NRR advice on letsrun, but very much appreciate that the board has people who do know what they're talking about. I'm especially hoping an estate attorney might take some pity on me and help me out.
I am quite sure this estate attorney is trying to pull one over on me, but I don't know what I can do.
Timeline of situation:
1. Father passes away
2. Relative appointed executor
3. Estate attorney hired
4. Estate is closed, proceeds distributed according to will, executor is "released from all liabilities and obligations with respect to the distribution." The estate attorney and executor are both paid their (sizable) statutory fees (~4% of the estate). Everybody seems content.
5. On attempting to transfer a small real estate asset that was included in the estate, attorney discovers a former ex-wife is still on the deed. Estate attorney contacts the ex-wife, who agrees to release her claim (this is a non-desirable, very low value time share). The attorney's fee included 4% of this asset's appraisal.
6. Estate attorney sends executor an itemized bill for $2500 for her work wrapping up this asset. The itemized bill includes, among other things, a slew of one-line emails she sent to me to confirm receipt of a letter or something of the sort, etc, billed at $300/hr.
7. Executor, who no longer has control of estate money, as the estate has been closed, sends the bill to me to pay.
This lawyer is a hard woman to sit in the same room with, let alone talk to. I know that she is thinking that if she sends the bill to the executor, the executor will send it to me, and I will pay it because I don't want the executor, who is a family member, to have a collections agency sent after her. Throughout this process, she has been conniving, dismissive, and condescending (I listened to her explain the fundamental basics of how taxes work to a CFP on a phone call that was being billed in order to dodge a question, for instance).
In every day terms, this seems very shady to me. For one, the lawyer's oversight regarding this particular asset led her to close the estate before the deed for this asset could be transferred. Second, she has already been paid a significant fee for this exact asset via her 4% statutory estate fee. So she's double dipping, asking to be paid for the same asset twice. Third, she is sending a bill to the executor after the estate has been closed. Wouldn't she need to have a new agreement with the executor to bill for services? I really don't know how this works, but I don't see why the executor should be on the hook for anything after the estate is closed.
What are my options here? Is this just one of those things that in terms of common sense doesn't make sense, but is legally justified? Or is she just hoping someone pays the bill without asking questions?
Out of my personal dislike for this attorney, I do not want to see her paid for this, not to mention that I don't much want to pay $2500 for services I didn't ask for to get me a timeshare I don't particularly care if I own.
I also don't want my relative to be on the hook.
I don't, to be honest, care whether I ever own this time share. I will turn around and try to sell it, and possibly take a loss after paying the fees even if I can find a buyer. Time shares are such a horrible idea.
Thanks letsrun. I hope you can help.