Posted by: Ruby Bolton
June 30, 2008
Topic: Proceeding to Determine Heirship

As part of the Proceeding to Determine Heirship, most Courts will appoint an Attorney Ad Litem to represent any hiers that the applicant may have either forgetten, be defrauding, or even just not know about.  The Ad Litem's fees are usually between $300 and $800 and vary depending on the attorney appointed, and the amount of work which the attorney performs.  Many people who are forced to do a proceeding to determine heirship feel the appointment of the Ad Litem simply makes the proceeding take more time and money.  The feeling Laura might have is, "I told the Court who my husband's heirs are.  Noone is left out, so exactly who am I paying this extra lawyer to represent?"  In many cases, I can understand this feeling.  If you have a single, long-standing marriage, with no extra-marital children, the family situation is very straight-forward.  A competent Ad Litem will usually review the pleadings, speak with Laura, and the individuals whom Laura provides as witnesses, and verify that the witnesses knew George well, and he never had any children other than those listed in the application, and he was never divorced, and never married anyone other than Laura.  The Ad Litem may also verify that noone ever heard George mention having a will made, and that George never took any other children into the home and treated them as his children.  Some Ad Litems have asked my clients to provide death and birth and marriage certificates as well.  The Ad Litem files an answer and a request for fees, and attends the hearing, usually asking the witnesses most of the same questions I have just asked them. 

    So if the Ad Litem is bringing out essentially the same information Laura has already provided, why do we need him?  Because Laura has an incentive to lie.   Or, even if she is not willing to lie, she has an incentive not to be curious.  Let's say that George had been married before, but never really talked about it.  Now he has died without a will.  Laura gets two witnesses and files her application for administration.  However, when the Ad Litem is appointed, the Ad Litem realizes that neither of the witnesses knew George during his first marriage.  So the Ad Litem contacts the ex-wife.  It turns out there was a child born during the marriage.  Suddenly there is another heir.

  However, many situations are far more comlicated.    Not only is divorce become quite common, but so has the number of children born outside of wedlock.  Somethimes the Ad Litem has a real job in front of him

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