I would add that not having copies or preferably the originals of your documents back is a big big red flag.
I was concerned too. Unfortunately I was on my 3rd week in hospital for pneumonia. I wasn’t in any shape to feed documents into a flatbed scanner one page at a time.
A lawyers office should have a scanner with sheet feeder. Or, some copy machines have scanning built-in.
Of course that’s for the staff’s use. 
Being the boss can be nice.
I don’t thinks so either, but perhaps those initial steps have been taken, strategy identified, and they’re just waiting for [legitimate hurdle]. There might be reason to be angry but there might not. Get the update, evaluate where the lawyer’s at and then get pissed off if needed. Remember, OP hasn’t contacted them in all this time, either.
Wouldn’t the estate be billed? Come to think of it, who is the client here? The trust?
I think the Executor of the Trust when ever one is appointed pays?
It won’t be me. I will have very little control of the Trust. The Will calls for a small annual payout. Nearly all goes to charity after I’m finished living.
I inherit the other assets. I’m still sorting out what furniture to give away or sell.
That’s probably unnecessary unless you have a really bad feeling about these guys. Most lawyer to lawyer letters I get these days are PDF attachments to emails.
Probable scenario: They’ll get your letter, feel bad they didn’t do a better job keeping you in the loop (or working on the file), and tell you what has been done and what’s left to do.
I’m not an attorney, but I thought a retainer served a couple of purposes – a kind of earnest money, to prove sincerity and give the client some skin in the game; and mostly so that the attorney didn’t have to front all the incidental costs before getting paid at the end. Also, a retainer is a down payment, not a final billing, so it would still be settled at the end. When I had an attorney help with my father’s estate, he not only asked for a retainer but also had monthly billing (and accounting) for time spent so far. Of course an attorney doesn’t have to do any of that, and I suppose such practices vary by state.
I paid a retainer (then more) to my attorney for my divorce. I paid a retainer for representation in a civil suit (that I won!!).
However my gf’s attorney contract for her aunt’s estate involved a contract with x% of the estate’s value (minus certain things) payable at the very end.
That sounds kinda weird. Was she contesting a will, and offering a contingent % of anything the atty could get her?
As I’ve said before, I’m professionally ignorant WRT estate law, but I’ve never heard of a contingency fee in such situations.
Pennsylvania “suggests” the executor/executrix be paid 5% for the first $100,000.00 and then the percentage goes down as the estate increases in value. The attorney my gf hired to help her takes the same amount.
I did not appreciate that you were describing services as an executor. Not sure that is exactly what the OP is seeking. (Still, a set % for an executor seems odd, absent consideration of the complexity of the estate.)
Executors are a interesting problem.
Over the years my parents approached several relatives. IIRC mom’s sister was first. One by one they passed away. My mom was choosing from her own peer group. Old Folks
Now, it’s whoever the Attorney picks to manage the trust. Most likely a professional management company.
You may not want to do this, but if you would like some redress for the attorney’s foot-dragging, you can file a complaint with the state bar. (I don’t know what the process would be, but I’m sure it’s easy enough to Google).
Lack of timely response can lead to censure by the bar. I know this because when I was involved in a lawsuit (related to a poorly written trust, as a matter of fact, though under radically different circumstances than you are dealing with), I researched the attorney who wrote the trust. It turned out he had an official sanction on his record for something quite like what you seem to be going through.
He wasn’t disbarred, but anyone who cares can see that on his permanent record.
Most charities have an attorney on retainer, or a friendly attorney on their board. Get them involved.
When the charity learns that there’s a few million $ coming to them, as soon as this current attorney gets off his ass, they will be glad to help motivate this attorney.
Thank you for the suggestion.
I’m sure St Jude’s will help. That’s the main charity. Also Arkansas Children’s Hospital is on the list.
For my own estate I like Make A Wish.
I heard back from the estate attorney. A bank will be appointed as Trustee without moving the assets from Wells Fargo.
I need to begin thinking about my personal estate and filing a Will. Perhaps look into setting up a small annual Scholarship fund for young people to attend college classes.
I want to leave something positive behind after I take care of my family’s future.
It doesn’t take a fortune. 200k a year would fund the cost of three or four people for a semesters classes at Public University. It’s approximately 30k a semester to enroll in 14 credit hours, pay activity fees, and buy books at my local public University.