Lawyers, Answer Questions  & Get Points Log In
Questions Answered by Ben F Meek III
2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Kentucky on
Q: How do I transfer my deceased mother's vehicle out of her name in KY? She had no will and I'm her next of kin (daughter)

The circuit clerk said to get an "order of distence" when I called about that I was told to get legal advice.. there is no estate to be executor to. She only had a bank account and car

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jan 12, 2021

Most states have what are called "small estate affidavits" or "affidavits of heirship" or similar. If

you qualify to use them, they can help avoid having to file a probate case with the courts. Generally, you have to be an heir of the owner that has died, no probate...
View More

View More Answers

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Small Claims for Oklahoma on
Q: My boyfriend's mother died with no will, his grandparents took the deed and the death certificate. What can he do?

The grandparents are taking things from the house and they say the house is theirs just because they have the deed (that isn't in their name). My boyfriend just turned 18 and has no idea what to do or who to talk to. Also the property value is under 50,000

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Dec 30, 2020

If mom died single (unmarried), the grandparents most likely have no right to the property they are taking. Your boyfriend and his siblings, if any, would be the mom's heirs but the grandparents would not. Taking possession of a deed that has been recorded in the land records would not... View More

View More Answers

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Minnesota on
Q: What can my mom do about money she is entitled to in my grandma’s will when my aunt had a joint account with my grandma?

My grandmother passed away last year. Grandpa already passed years ago. They had 4 children, my mother being the third child. In my grandma’s will, she had stipulated that each of her kids receive 25% of the money she had left behind. However, before she had passed, she had opened a joint account... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Dec 30, 2020

Unfortunately, the money in the joint account likely ceased to belong to your grandmother when she died leaving a surviving joint owner on the account. However, if your grandmother lacked the mental capacity to understand what she was doing in setting up that account or in transferring funds into... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Indiana on
Q: brother refuses to show copy of will said he lost it he was power of attorney. will showed Sister executor of will

other family members agreed to have sister executor. But brother a issue in Indiana ,lake county. Can we get estate probated how to proceed without copy of the will .all we know that a copy needed to file for administrator so what do we do .

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Dec 30, 2020

You or other family may be able to begin a probate proceeding and get a court order to require your brother to produce the original will. You need to talk to an experienced probate lawyer for specific advice about your situation. Justia.com can help you find one near you and many attorneys offer... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Indiana on
Q: Found assets that were unaccounted for, planning to open probate. Am I thinking clearly?

Sister with POA handled everything and ended up with everything, claiming there was nothing left. With help from lawyer, discovered bonds ( interest was redeemed 6 days after step-fathers death for $26,000), life insurance, a vehicle and likely checking and savings accounts. Most everything else... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Dec 29, 2020

You should talk to an experienced probate lawyer in the state where your step-father received Medicaid and presumably where his property was located. Medicaid has a right under federal law to recover from your step-father's estate (with a few exceptions) the cost of his care that it paid for.... View More

3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Elder Law for Texas on
Q: Is there any reason to hesitate in pursuing an incompetency designation?

Our father has been diagnosed with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. His trust document has an "incompetency clause".

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Dec 12, 2020

I agree with attorney Garrett that the onset of dementia does not mean that the person suffering from it is instantly or automatically incompetent. The incompetency clause may or may not be appropriately invoked depending on the trustor's actual mental condition (assuming your father is the... View More

View More Answers

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for South Carolina on
Q: I have a judgement against me to the tune of around $13,000. My husband and I both have a will.

If my husband dies before me, will the judgement become due after the transfer of assets to me? Also, will a irrevocable trust be advisable to keep all creditors and judgement at bay? I am the one with a judgement. My husband would do the trust by himself with me as beneficiary, hopefully to avoid... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Nov 9, 2020

The judgment is due now. The judgment may grow dormant or become unenforceable over time if the judgment creditor does not keep it alive by taking certain steps, such as, for example, issuing an execution or garnishment every so often. Joint bank accounts with your husband may be vulnerable now... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning on
Q: What am I in titled to as a surviving spouse?

His will leaves my the right to live on the property but not own it. I have put much money into the property and would rather have half and leave the rest to his grown children. What are my rights?

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 6, 2020

You need to talk to an experienced probate lawyer in your state. In many states, the surviving spouse may have a "forced share" of the decedent's estate even if the decedent tried to disown or limit the spouse's share. Also, you may have a homestead interest in the marital... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for Oklahoma on
Q: im trying to find a simple vacant land purchase agreement form with no broker involved and i am paying cash

no broker involved paying down payment with balance due at closing

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 6, 2020

You might try the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission website. They have some free forms there.

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Oklahoma on
Q: In my dads will it says the life insurance is to be devided between my brother and I but my brother is the beneficiary.

Does he have to split the money with me?

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 5, 2020

Unfortunately, the answer is probably no. The insurance money is paid by contract with the insurance company and is not property of your father's probate estate. The Will therefore does not act upon those funds. Unless there are some unmentioned circumstances, your brother does not have to... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Probate for California on
Q: Regarding an insurance policy

Insurance Company recently discovered a small policy of Mother who passed in 2001. Father (husband) passed a few years after Mom. Five siblings survive. There's no will, no estate and we gave the insurance company the death certificates. What is needed to get this small amount to the siblings?

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on May 28, 2020

Most states have what are called "small estate affidavits" or "affidavits of heirship", which allow the heirs to swear under penalties of perjury to certain facts, such as: that your mom has died; that she left no will; that no probate proceeding has been started for her... View More

View More Answers

1 Answer | Asked in Elder Law and Estate Planning for Alabama on
Q: Can/will Medicaid pursue asset recovery on a home that is by their calculation worth less than is owed on the mortgage?

The home is in my mother's name, but I and my family live in it. Current tax appraisal of home is $49k, and Alabama Medicaid advised me to list it for $50 -55k, but $60k is still owed on the mortgage. Will they force us to continue to try and sell, even though they would get nothing, or is... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on May 27, 2020

Your mom has an asset, which is the home. The mortgage may reduce the home's value to her, but it's still an asset.

There are too many unknowns that need to be looked into before you can know whether Medicaid can come after the house. One would be whether Medicaid recorded a...
View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Oklahoma on
Q: In Oklahoma is there a time frame that a persons estate has to be closed? My uncle passed 8 years ago and the guardian

My uncle passed 8 years ago and the guardian won't close estate and will not give answers regarding estate. Can we go somewhere to see documents relating to status of property and monetary assets.

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Mar 31, 2020

The guardianship over your uncle ceased when he died. The guardian at that point should have filed a Final Account and request to formally terminate the guardianship. If the guardian did not do so, they may be held to account and possibly to pay damages for any property that has have not been... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Gov & Administrative Law and Land Use & Zoning for Indiana on
Q: If you take care of a pice of ground for 50 years mow it and clean it up does it become yours
Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Mar 27, 2020

Maybe. In order to obtain land by adverse possession there are several things you have to be able to prove. That you possessed the property, that you exercised control that was exclusive (nobody else controlling it), open (not hidden), notorious (well known or easy to see), and hostile to ownership... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Oklahoma on
Q: My grandfather will probate was done incorrectly therefore invalid. Does that mean his property still belonged to him

The property was to b inherited by my aunt . She died b4 probate was completed leaving her kids as inheritors. They evicted me from property I had lived on 10+yrs. Over a year later we were notified the probate was done incorrectly therefore invalid. Was my eviction legal

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Feb 27, 2020

More information is needed in order to answer your question. It depends on the terms of his Will and how it was written. It may also depend on who else of your grandfather's heirs were alive when he died. Your rights, if any, may also be cut off by appeals deadlines or statutes of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Florida on
Q: How to proceed with probate of property in Florida?

My fathers mother passed away a few months ago. There are six siblings in all. They do not all agree on how the land with the home is to be divided. The will states that all assets are to be divided equally (only asset is the land and family home). One of the brothers had the land surveyed and... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Oct 24, 2019

The short answer is maybe. There are generally two options when co-owners are partitioning or being subjected to partition of land: (a) in kind (what has been proposed by the surveying sibling); or (b) by sale and dividing the proceeds. If one of the siblings files a suit or demand for... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law and Probate for California on
Q: It has been 2 years since my mother died and I did not object to my brother being administrator. He is living in the

house collecting $1,200 a month from renters in the duplex. What can I do in NYC to get this house sold. The market is good and the house is at $700,000. Two years ago it was appraised for $580,000. Can I resubmit a new appraisal to probate court as an heir

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 12, 2019

If you are an heir to your father's estate, you can probably force a sale of the property or for your brother to buy you out. It's a remedy called "partition", which is the right of a co-owner to get the value of his interest and get separated from his co-owners. You can... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for North Carolina on
Q: Woman died. Left home to one person until his death then to children after his death. How can children secure interests?

A woman owned a home which was in her name only. In her will, she left the will to her husband for the rest of his life then to their children (she had children from a 1st husband, and he had children from a 1st wife). How can all of the children secure their interests? If the home is put into the... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 10, 2019

You need to take a copy of her Will to an experience probate lawyer. If the property was her separate property at the time she married her new spouse, she kept it separate, and she left him a life estate in it by her Will, then he most likely received from her only a life estate in the property... View More

View More Answers

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Kansas on
Q: Does tenancy in common require probate in KS?

My ex husband died in 2016 with no will, leaving a home that I believed to be titled as joint tenancy, but which I've learned is worded as tenancy in common. I've lived in, paid all taxes on, maintained and improved the home by myself for the last 28 years since we divorced, and wish to... View More

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 8, 2019

You might start by reviewing your divorce decree. If the property division gave you sole ownership of the house (subject to any mortgages, etc.) but the decree wasn’t recorded in the land records, all you may need to do is record it to be the sole owner (or you may have to sue to quiet title).... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Oklahoma on
Q: I'm a Licensed Realtor & I have been appointed by the court as personal representative of my father's estate. House is

under contract. Am I allowed to receive a commission on the sale since I am the personal rep of the estate?

Ben F Meek III
Ben F Meek III
answered on Jun 7, 2019

Probably yes but you should obtain court approval to protect yourself and the estate. You have a fiduciary duty to the heirs/beneficiaries and self-dealing in such a situation should be fully disclosed and approved by the court. Even if the listing agreement predated the probate filing. Your... View More

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.