What is the responsibility of the lawyer? -

4 sisters and a niece in dispute of property deeded and willed to the 4 sisters. Is it the responsibility of the Lawyer to listen with an open ear to each party? Could this be per phone privately or necessarily open among the group?

it should be done with everyone involved as the each have a share of the property in question --so they should all be there for a group discussion-there may be one of the sibling may want to buy out the others and maybe they will all want to sell and divide the cash up

Who is the lawyer representing? If the lawyer is representing the 4 sisters together, then it is best to keep communication open. Private communications could be misconstrued esp if it appears one sister is acting out of self-interest. If the lawyer is representing the person who made the will, then the lawyer is responsible for ensuring the intent of the will is carried out. If the 4 sisters are in disagreement, then all the lawyer can do is try to navigate thorugh the disagreement in order to effecuate the intent of the will.

The first question is, who does the lawyer represent? If there is a probate proceeding and the lawyer was retained by the executor as attorney for the estate, his responsibility is to the estate and its representative (the executor), not to the heirs individually. The lawyer should try to avoid estate problems by listening to and inquiring of everyone, but ultimately the law has to guide his decision, which can then be taken up with the probate judge if some heirs are still not satisfied. If the issue involves real estate that was deeded to some of the heirs, the deed prevails over the will, usually, as in most states the co-owners, unless otherwise specified, continue to own the whole title on the death of the other co-owner. If the attorney wishes to mediate, or wants to get a mediator, the sessions are usually together. Otherwise, except in a court action, the attorney can handle it however he feels is appropriate

Never forget this...The lawyer s responsibility is to get PAID! In any case where a lawyer is involved, wills, trusts, etc., they will never give you a concrete answer for anything. They let your emotions fuel a lengthy process so they can get PAID. They will write any type of will you want knowing full well that in the end, it ll be contested in some way, and another lawyer (if not him) is going to get PAID.

A lawyer s responsibility is to seek the goal chosen by the client that the lawyer represents. That may involve listening to politely and it might not.