Does my late mother's will need to be probated if their is a 45m$ lawsuit looming possible in the future?

O.K., my mom had law suit against a major drug co.started before she died from cancer at 58 years old .The cancer was caused from a hormone replacement drug that she took for 26 years.Her lawyers are still working on the case and had a deposition with her and the drug co. about a month before she died. Their are three heirs in wich my mother stated in her will(that was notarized in the state of Texas) that would recieve her estate :Me and my 2 brothers to share and share alike. Also, anyone that attest should recieve $1. Anyway,the court still hasn't appointed my oldest brother, who is the benefactor, as the head of the estate.My mom's attorneys said they would handle this, but they're kinda hazy on the whole deal. Can anyone screw use out of the money when the settlement comes through with the will not being probated? Also my uncle keeps popping his nose into the lawyers office, I assume gold digging, is there anything to worry about here?The lawyers have a copy of the will.

That serious money, may be you should get Guido to keep a eye on that uncle.

it's probably a good idea.
however, the tobacco companies rarely lose that amount of money.
don't get your hopes up.
that said, that's enough money to bring all the leeches out of the walls.
and it wouldn't hurt to make sure you have a good definition of who gets what.
the problem is, how much does it cost?
and who pays? (you, i'd guess)

If she had a will and it stated you and your brothers only, then you and your brothers only are entitled to anything. You could probate now. We had my great grandmother's will done not long after she passed. Because she lived with my husband and I and we took care of her until she passed, she left what she had to us. At the time there was one known gas lease. Three years after she passed, another property came up. I was hunted down for her share in the lease and again a few years later the same thing happened. I would go ahead and probate unless you are told other wise by her attorneys.

I'm not an attorney, but this is my advice. If the lawyers handling the PI (personal injury/product liability) case are the same ones handling the Estate, change and get separate lawyers. Not that the lawyers are doing anything wrong, but you and your siblings' interest in the Estate is different than your interests in the PI case. It's wise to have different attorneys handling the matters.

It's hard to tell from your question if you believe the Court should have appointed your Brother as Personal Representative by now. If the Will has been filed with the Court and an Estate action filed, Courts sometimes are notoriously slow working through the paperwork. Your rights should be protected by the Will. Your Brother needs to make sure that the estate action has been filed with the Court.

Attorneys shouldn't be 'hazy'. Pin them down. Have them write a timetable for what they expect to occur in the Estate/PI cases. But understand it is contingent on lots of stuff and WILL change, but at least you will understand the process. It's not unusual for a mildly complicated Estate take more than a year to close - so compare that to what your Mother has going on...

Your Uncle should not be 'popping' in and the attorneys should be allowing it either. If your Brother is the Personal Representative, then neither should you (sorry). The attorneys represent your Brother in the Estate as the personal representative and not you or Uncle. If the Estate has been opened in Court, then your rights should be protected and you should receive notice of all court actions and hearings. I'm sure the attorneys have been upfront with you and your siblings, but in Indiana, they would represent your Brother only (think about it this way, if you were getting divorced, you wouldn't want your mother talking to your attorney, even if you really loved her, because the attorney represents you...). If your Brother says the attorneys can talk you, that is a different matter. If your Bro is bothered by your uncle's actions, have the attorneys write the Uncle a letter.

Remember to act timely so that your rights are protected and so that you do not waive any rights or claims for reason of the expiration of the applicable time limitations.

Good Luck.