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Unusually, James chose to handle the entire estate administration process pro se – meaning she represented herself without a lawyer. She personally filed every petition, affirmation, and waiver, even submitting a sworn declaration confirming that she was not acting as an attorney nor accepting compensation from the estate. This is a rare approach for a licensed attorney and public official, as it effectively avoids the legal scrutiny of cross-examination over potentially inconsistent filings.
Adding to the strangeness of the case, Letitia James declared in her estate filings that two of her siblings, Alberta and Marsha James, were missing. Their whereabouts were listed as “unknown,” with Letitia claiming to have contacted 11 hospitals, the NYC Department of Corrections, New York State correctional services, and the U.S. Department of Justice in an attempt to locate them. Despite these efforts, she was unable to track them down.
The filings also reveal that her brother, Rickie James, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as early as 1975, living at the Inwood Street property and refusing all medical treatment. Despite this, the family chose not to pursue legal certification for mental incapacity or involuntary hospitalization, a decision that likely avoided further legal complexities for the estate.
Given that at least three of Letitia James’s siblings reportedly struggled with mental illness, including schizophrenia, the family’s complicated dynamics cast a shadow over the estate proceedings.
As New York’s Attorney General, James has made a name for herself by pursuing high-profile financial fraud cases, including the headline-grabbing prosecution of former President Donald Trump. In one of her public statements, she declared, “Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them.”
Yet the revelations from her own family’s estate raise uncomfortable questions. If the same standard were applied to her, would James be held to account for the potential misrepresentations and irregularities in her handling of her father’s estate? These unsettling details are likely to fuel ongoing debates about her own accountability as New York’s top law enforcement official.
