Our father was a pastor, a public servant, and a pillar of his community. He served in city government before answering the call to full-time ministry. He was deeply bonded to his children, present in our lives, and protective of our relationships with him until his very last day.

After his death, his surviving spouse assumed control of his estate, including his belongings, his funeral arrangements, and his memory, without ever going through probate court or being formally appointed as executor. She exercised the authority of that role without the accountability it requires: no transparency, no accounting, no fiduciary obligation to his heirs. His children were excluded from decision-making during his hospitalization, shut out of funeral planning, and ultimately told never to contact her again when we asked about retrieving personal belongings, including items from our childhood that predated their marriage.

It has been over a year since our father’s passing. We waited, hoping she would do the right thing by opening probate, providing an accounting, and honoring the relationships that existed long before her own. She did not. No proceedings were filed. No transparency was offered. No belongings were returned. We are no longer waiting.

We are seeking legal representation to open probate proceedings and pursue estate transparency and accounting, access to personal belongings and childhood items that were ours before they were ever in her possession, and claims related to breach of fiduciary duty, conversion or misappropriation of assets, and potential civil liability for acting as executor without legal appointment.

Contested probate litigation in Mississippi and Tennessee requires attorney retainers, filing fees, and court costs. We are raising $25,000 to secure legal counsel and begin pursuing what the law should have protected from the beginning.

We are not asking for sympathy. We are asking for the resources to stand where our father would have stood for us, if his voice had not been the first thing death took.

To understand the full story behind this campaign, read the essay that started this conversation:

https://open.substack.com/pub/theeclecticstack/p/after-death-power-replaces-relationship?r=ox5o4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Every contribution, and every share, helps us take the next step.