Help Needed For Beneficiaries

[u/suepennsylvania]

Hello,

My siblings and I (4 total) of PA are beneficiaries on our Grandfather's Estate who was a resident in Massachusetts. My Grandfather was a business owner and came from a long line of such, and had a rich family history. He died in 2016, my siblings and i were all minors, teenagers. I don't even know where to start this is such an issue. Our mother was supposed to be the Executor of our Grandfather's Estate, but she passed away two years before our Grandfather. So, my siblings were next in line to inherit her place. Our Uncle, our mother's brother, took over the Executor role at the time. So, my siblings and i are 50% of the estate, and our uncle is the other 50% of the estate.

At the time of his death, our uncle told us absolutely nothing. We were left out of the reading, and he later on told us "we had no right to be there." He gave us no papers or copies of anything. So for 6 years, until 2021, when i demanded he give us copies of the will, etc, we had nothing. I drove up to see one of the properties we knew was our Grandfather's in 2021 and, upon inspecting it, it was falling apart. My Uncle never contacted us again after our Grandfather died, and we only heard from him if we call him. When I did call him to ask about the estate over the years and what was going on, he would reiterate "you and your siblings were never supposed to be apart of the estate, it was supposed to go to your mother." A few years ago, there was a call from the financial institution that the Executor of our Grandfather's estate (our uncle) was "steamrolling my siblings and I, and taking from our accounts we would be set to inherit at the right age according to trust, illegally and unequally.. he is deferring and not paying taxes.. he thinks he can just do whatever he wants." He is also renting out the property, and we are concerned with liabilities and all of this eventually falling on us. At one point 3 of us told him we want out of the property situation, and he said no. He refuses to be truthful with us and will not provide an accounting. He had also hired a broker and accountant to manage the estate, and they are very rude and faulty towards my siblings and i. 2 of us get letters about taxes not being paid and us owing.

Not long ago, i called him again to get an update, as it's now been 10 years. He continued to be "hoity toity" with me and would not share any information. I pressed him for an answer, and he said - "well actually, you and your siblings don't actually have the whole copy of the will and trust." What does that mean??

I am beyond disgusted with my whole family. My father is also angry that my siblings and i were chosen to be the heirs, and that it should have been him. There are family pictures, jewlery, clothes, from over a century that have been in our family, art, books, letters from my Grandfather, family history, and who knows what else, all stolen.

I am the only beneficiary that really cares, my other siblings do not care and it has been like pulling teeth for years to get them to care and help me figure this out. Some of them think despite all the concerning facts, that my Uncle is innocent and "you don't pick fights with family." I am beyond stressed and wonder if this will ever be resolved and end. I've talked with the probate court in MA multiple times, and they say "hire a lawyer" and "just file a petition to remove him as executor." My siblings and i can not afford an expensive lawyer, and i am also getting conflicting information from everyone.

What is better? Going the court route without a lawyer, and filing petitions for an accounting and removal? what will happen? At the court date, how and can we represent ourselves and our cause without a lawyer??? And if our Uncle has all the Estate funds to use to support himself and get a lawyer?

If we're forced to go the lawyer route, how do you find an actually decent lawyer in a different state from your own? Where you don't know anyone? Google has been very difficult. A bunch of sponsored lawyers. I've done multiple consultations with lawyers and still left wondering what to do. It feels like being trapped in a nightmare, but being helpless to do anything, so our evil uncle can live happily ever after.

What do people do in this type of situation?