Assets can be removed from an estate in many ways. A corrupt fiduciary may wrongfully and deliberately remove assets from an estate for his or her own gain. The assets may have been unwittingly removed from the home of the deceased before their death. The fiduciary may have negligently lost the assets in the confusion of administrating a large estate due to complexities or remote and unknown heirs. The assets may have been given away by the fiduciary with the belief that the deceased would have approved of the distribution. Wrongfully transferred assets may lead to litigation.

At the law offices of Sweeney, Reich & Bolz LLP, it is our goal to assist individuals and families in recovering wrongfully transferred assets that rightfully belong to the estate. Our attorneys will help locate the missing assets and transfer them back to the estate or to their rightful heirs. Recovering wrongfully transferred assets often requires appearances in Surrogate’s Court. Our attorneys will appear on behalf of our clients, using our years of experience and legal strategy to build a strong case for the recovery of the wrongfully transferred assets. Our attorneys take on complex cases that other firms are reluctant to take. The team of lawyers at Sweeney, Reich & Bolz LLP are experienced in protecting the clients’ rights throughout the process and have recovered millions of dollars in wrongfully transferred assets.

Our attorneys advise clients about the best course of action when assets have been removed from an estate. We evaluate the costs and benefits of aggressively pursuing missing assets and advise our clients about the best course of action based upon the facts and circumstances of their particular situation. In some cases, it may be economically prudent to forego the recovery of less valuable property unless the location of that property is obvious. However, items of higher value, including real property, jewelry, art, antiques and other personal possessions are usually worth the cost of recovery. Our attorneys have an arsenal of investigators and experts who assist in locating missing valuable items.

Additionally, our attorneys are skilled at recovering financial assets that may have been transferred, either fraudulently or accidentally. Bank accounts, securities, retirement accounts, stocks and bonds may have had changes made to ownership, mailing addresses and beneficiaries that require action to return then to the estate. Our attorneys and support staff are capable if conducting forensic accounting techniques and methods to determine where the assets may be located or hidden.