Michael Brian Smith

I’m writing to share my deeply disappointing experience with the estate administration process following my daughter’s tragic death. My daughter suffered a sudden mental health crisis and tragically took her own life. She was my only child. As her mother, I had been managing her affairs and prov...ided all relevant paperwork to Michael Smith when he was appointed as estate administrator. I did not, nor would I ever have hired this person. Unfortunately, my experience working with Mr. Smith was extremely difficult during an already devastating time: The paperwork I provided was deemed "insufficient", leading to legal complications. In addition, Mr. Smith hired legal counsel, and the combined fees charged to my daughter’s estate were substantial - close to $100,000 was paid for their legal fees within the first year. The process of retrieving my daughter’s personal belongings was particularly distressing. After a moving company suggested a cost-saving option (they would load items into a U-Haul I rented for $200), I received what I felt was a condescending email from Mr. Smith, denying myself or anyone but the movers access to my daughter's house to retrieve her items. Due to his refusal, I had to pay $4,000 to have strangers collect my daughter's personal belongings. Incredulously, the company that Michael selected did not travel out of the state-- and I live across the country--so I had to hire an additional company to move my daughter's keepsakes to the state that I reside in! The move ultimately cost me over $8,000! I am 67 years old and on social security... this amount of money caused me significant strain in addition to the grief of losing my only child. Losing my only child in such a horrific way has been the worst experience of my life. The difficulties I encountered during estate administration added significant pain to an already unbearable situation. It was truly an awful experience for me. I hope sharing my experience helps others know what questions to ask when selecting estate professionals.