My mother currently lives in the house she purchased with my late father. Fully paid and in their trust. She is showing signs of dementia and we expect the need for full time in-home or assisted living care within the next year. In a recent review of my father's trust, we found an unexpected... Read more »
answered on Jul 6, 2022
Talk to an elder law attorney. You might be able to keep the house AND get Medicaid to pay for her care.
She didnt have relationships with her two children. One was ordered to move out and had a protective restraining order about 6 months prior to death and her other child she hadn't seen in 15 years. However the son she had no contact with for 15 years came one day and got POA. However, my... Read more »
answered on Jul 5, 2022
When a person dies with no will, then state law determines who inherits. Assuming your grandmother was unmarried when she died and all of her biological and adopted children survived her, then her children inherit in equal shares. Grandchildren would not inherit.
answered on Jun 28, 2022
Apparently they are. A quick internet search revealed this:
To redeem S&H Green Stamps call the toll-free number 1-800-435-5674 and request a catalog. Stamps are redeemable in merchandise or cash at $1.20 per full book. If you want to redeem your stamps for cash, mail the books to... Read more »
The company was Mid-South Estate Planning, which seems to have been charged with fraud or illegal practice.
answered on Jun 28, 2022
In the "old days" attorneys did routinely hold original wills in their safes. This was in part due to the fact that most regular folk could not afford their own safes and partly due to the attorney's desire to handle the probate when the client died. Now that safes are more... Read more »
If I am joint owner of Mom's banking account will the court order that also to be split?
There is a mortgage-free home which I assumed would automatically go to me, her daughter and POA while she lived. My only living sibling died in September 2021. She left a handwritten paper that it... Read more »
answered on Jun 27, 2022
You really should schedule a consultation with a probate attorney. I could give you a glib answer that the surviving joint owner is now the sole owner of the account but that would be without reviewing ALL of the facts. First, you might think you are a joint owner but in fact you are not. An... Read more »
There is a mortgage-free home which I assumed would automatically go to me, her daughter and POA while she lived. My only living sibling died in September 2021. She left a handwritten paper that it should be split equally between my brother and me. But I am told it is not a valid will. Would I not... Read more »
answered on Jun 27, 2022
When a person dies without a valid law, heirship is determined by the laws of intestate succession. It sounds like your mother was single when she passed. In that case the estate is split into one share for each child, living or deceased, unless a child died without any living descendants of his... Read more »
For example, if your 75 year old father got married a year before he died, will probate court take into consideration that his "wife" was only so for a year, where as his money and assets were acquired over the lifetime of his 40plus year marriage to the mother of his two grown children,... Read more »
answered on Jun 27, 2022
That is a good question because the surviving spouse's share is different depending on whether or not there is a will. If there is no will, like my colleague Mr. Avery stated, the surviving spouse's share is determined by the laws of intestate succession. At the risk of oversimplifying,... Read more »
My sister made it seem to us that she was in control of everything and would not even let me go in my mom's house. Here it is a couple months later and I just found out by that sister that they found my mom's original will and I am the only child on it and her lawyer advised her to walk... Read more »
answered on Jun 21, 2022
You need to obtain the original will and hire a probate attorney to help you. If your sister refuses to deliver the will to you, a court can compel her to do so.
The day before my dads death in 1996, my stepmom notarized her own quit claim with her notary stamp. My first question is if that is or was legal then. My second question is what benefit would it be since the quit claim basically added her in the second party JTWROS since they were married at the... Read more »
answered on Jun 19, 2022
Definitely not. A notary public may not notarize his or her own signature.
I placed my residence in Virginia into a QPRT two years ago splitting it between my two children. My son has since become disabled. I bought a house for me and my husband in California this month and am currently in the process of selling my house in Virginia under the QPRT. I want to buy another... Read more »
answered on Jun 19, 2022
This is a question that is best posed directly to the attorney who helped you create the QPRT as he or she knows best what your existing QPRT provides.
I am the sole person, listed as beneficiary & awarded in probate court.
answered on Jun 17, 2022
You don’t HAVE to pay the mortgage, but if you don’t the lender will foreclose and you will lose the house. Putting it in a trust will not change this reality. If it did everyone would do it.
My sister is on my mother's bank account as the beneficiary can she automatically use the money in the account to pay bills after my mother's death without going through probate
answered on Jun 16, 2022
Yes and no. The bank will need to be provided with a death certificate first before they update the name on the account.
My son's last wish (no will) was that his partner own the home they lived in. Being the heir (his mother), with him having with no children or wife, the home will be quit claimed to me. I wish to quit claim it to his partner asap. Can I do this or will she have to be approved through the... Read more »
answered on Jun 15, 2022
As with so many things, there are many issues to consider. Yes, once you are the owner you can quitclaim the property to anybody you want. You should talk to your CPA about whether this will trigger a gift tax for you. Most likely it will not, but that is an issue to pin down. And, yes, there... Read more »
I believe my brother overlooked an entry.
answered on Jun 14, 2022
You will have to ask your father for a copy. He is the only one that has the authority to release the original or copy of his will, for as long as he is alive.
My mother died from a terminal illness. After mom passed away my sister said she didn't leave a will but later on she said she found a will and mom had left me her car . I also asked her about my mom's bank account cause the hospital just gave my sister my mom's debit card, she said... Read more »
answered on Jun 14, 2022
This does not sound at all like you are being played. When a person dies, everything he or she owned in his or her individual name (with no beneficiary designations) must go through a legal process called probate in order to get those things transferred to the intestate heirs (no will) or... Read more »
My wife owns 50/50 of a house with her sister because when their mom passed away, she didn't have a will. Is there any way we can legally get her evicted from the house and ownership of it? She doesn't work. doesn't pay the mortgage, electric, water, etc... we pay all the bills while... Read more »
answered on Jun 14, 2022
The best solution to your wife's unfortunate situation is to her to hire a real estate litigation attorney to file a lawsuit called a "partition action" to force the sale of the house. Your wife and her sister would then split the proceeds. She might be able to convince the court... Read more »
Sold all his personal property worth 116,000 dollars. How do I get it back. The estate has not been through probate yet
answered on Jun 14, 2022
That is a terrible situation. I am sorry to hear you are going through this. Unfortunately, you probably cannot get the personal property back from any of the buyers unless you can find them and can prove that they knew or should have known that your daughter did not have authority to sell the... Read more »
My daughter passed away. I would like to remove my grand daughters name from the transfer of deed document and keep "only my natural born son and caregiver", as the only and sole beneficiary.
answered on Jun 14, 2022
It sound like you might be referring to a transfer on death deed that you have previously recorded and now you want to change it. In most states that can be done simply by recording a new transfer on death deed. The new one automatically revokes the old one. But you did not say what state this... Read more »
Then Says my name does that mean that she inherits the estate then when she passes it goes to me
answered on Jun 11, 2022
Your question cannot be answered without reviewing the actual language of the will, but most likely you and your sister will inherit equal shares.
Mother moved to another state for last 12 years of her life , is the will valid in the second state ?
answered on Jun 9, 2022
Most states do honor a will drawn up in another state as long as the will was validly created in the other state according to the laws of the other state as the time the will was executed. However, that creates a problem of proof in the new state. When it comes to probating the foreign will, the... Read more »
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