Can An Estate Sit In Probate Forever If The Administrator/executor Doesn't Pay The Lawyer Fees.

Throwaway account and asking for a friend.

In mid 2023, my best friend's grandma passed away. She made him the executor of her estate (which included a paid off townhouse that he was already living in). Without getting too much into the weeds, deceased person's two children were never supportive in a healthy way so they were cut off. They didn't have much of a leg to stand on with regards to the will, and they disappeared rather quickly after the passing, so they aren't fighting for the estate. I've never handled an estate at this point in my life, but I would assume that without anyone fighting the will it shouldn't take 2 years to process. Maybe I am way off though?

Fast forward 18+ months later and the property is still in probate. He has flat out told me that he hasn't paid the attorney for her services to this point. I believe that because he is horrible when it comes to money. Yes, I understand that the estate is supposed to pay for this stuff, but he pissed away the few thousands of dollars that she had sitting in a bank account when she died. Believe me, I could go on all day. I've been trying to get him on the right track so many times, making budgets, explaining how home ownership works, but it never seems to get through to him. Sorry for the rant/venting.

I recently searched up the case in the country records, and I saw that the case was "strike from court call" for a no show. Without any context, I am assuming that the lawyer didn't show up because my friend isn't paying for said services to handle the probate process.

My question is, can an estate sit in probate forever if the parties (my friend and the lawyer) aren't doing anything to push the case along? I am really worried that my friend is just going to sit around thinking that everything is just going to work itself out (which he always does), and then suddenly he is no longer able to live in that house. Believe me when I saw that him living in a dwelling rent/mortgage free (besides taxes and utilities) is the only thing keeping him from being homeless right now. He has a decent job, but can't manage money to save his life. I suspect he has a gambling problem, but that is another story.

Thanks for reading. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to explain to my buddy how urgent this situation is right now.