To make a very long story short, I am being presented with a bunch of legal documentation regarding the disposition of my recently deceased father’s assets that makes absolutely no sense to me: a will (which is pretty clear but has not yet been filed yet, AFAIK), a trust (which names my brother as successor trustee and as far as I understand, leaves everything to him), but names no specific direct beneficiaries even though it refers to all sorts of behavior toward beneficiaries and lists my brother as the sole successor beneficiary, an addendum of assets held in the trust that is literally blank, and well, there’s more that I would go into except I have already aired enough dirty laundry here.
I think at this point, I need to talk to an attorney licensed in New York who specializes in this area about the specifics. I have emailed a couple that were recommended to me by colleagues but haven’t consulted with anyone yet, and I will gladly take any recommendations if folks here have personal experience. I would also prefer not to shell out $500 for a consultation, but realize that NY being NY, that may in fact be the going rate for someone good.
(It’s not exactly “needs answer fast,” but this crapola has dragged out far too long already and my brother is pressuring me to sign related documents that I really don’t understand. Well, he is just going to have to wait.)
This is not a direct answer to your question, and it’s also not legal advice because, you know, IANAL and all that.
In general, I think your instincts are good (try to find a lawyer in your area who is competent to advise you without charging you too much money). However, one thing you might consider doing, just as a preliminary matter, is asking your brother (1) if there is a specific date that, in his own non-lawyerly opinion, he needs you to sign certain things by, and (2) if there is such a date, if he can please point you to whatever leads him to that conclusion. In other words, is your brother operating under the belief that there is a deadline for him to get your signature on something (or at least trying to get you to operate under the assumption there’s a deadline), and if so according to who/what?
If, for example, he both says that he is under a tight deadline (something definite, like a not later than date) and gives you a really good explanation as to why he believes there is such a deadline, that might change your calculus. Not that you still wouldn’t want to get independent legal advice if you can, just that you might consider paying what’s necessary (if you really want it) to get it quick.
Yep, a sister, and yes, we intend to coordinate. But I have spent 30+ years in the legal arena (in a totally different area of law - I have no particular area of expertise in this one, and certainly not in NY where I don’t live), so she is basically letting me take the lead.