New house owned 36 years. I do not recall any deed information.
answered on May 9, 2023
If your deed was recorded, you can buy a copy from the office of the Register of Deeds for the county where the property was located. If the deed was not recorded, then you may have a problem. You would need to contact the seller if they are alive to get a deed, or possibly the seller's estate... Read more »
answered on May 5, 2023
Not sure what you mean by "without affecting mortgage." It's not clear why it would matter to your mortgage whose names are on your bank accounts. In most cases a mortgage lender has no requirements of someone maintaining specific bank accounts while the mortgage is outstanding,... Read more »
This conserns a resident of the house, an inlaw, with sketchy and or shady friends and i do not want things coming up missing before estate disbursment
answered on Apr 27, 2023
The short answer is, yes, you have the right to control access to the house as executor of the estate, subject to two caveats:
(1) you don't have authority to do that unless you have letters of authority from the probate court; and
(2) your right to exclude others on on behalf... Read more »
Grandma past away, her husband is in a nursing home. His guardian is selling there property, can they legally do that if there is a beneficiary?
answered on Apr 21, 2023
By beneficiary, I'm assuming you mean there is someone named on the deed who is supposed to get the property when husband passes away.
The short answer to your question is yes, a court appointed guardian or conservator could sell the house with approval of the probate court. That... Read more »
A death notice was posted in the paper and since it was over a year I thought their claim to any estate was over.
answered on Apr 18, 2023
It depends what you mean by "death notice" in a paper. If you mean an obituary, that is not enough. On the other hand, if by "death notice was posted in the paper" you mean a notice to creditors was published in the newspaper by a personal representative under MCL 700.3801 or a... Read more »
There are significant assets that will transfer outside of probate (trust, POD). Is an Order for Assignment of Property sufficient when dealing with miscellaneous entities (post office, locksmiths, utilities, etc)? Or is it advisable to go for Informal Administration. Affairs were not complex -... Read more »
answered on Apr 14, 2023
A petition and order for assignment is one of two Michigan small-estate procedures that can be used when a deceased's probate property is less than $27,000. The other is an affidavit for delivery of certain assets to decedent's successor. You would only use these procedures if the... Read more »
Michigan. Items were taken by the police, am I entitled to them or do I have to file a probate claim?
answered on Apr 10, 2023
A lady bird deed is only effective to convey real estate. For the other items, they would need to be left to you in a will, or trust, or they would need to be yours under the laws of intestate succession if there is no will or trust. Probate may or may not be necessary depending on the... Read more »
We made a verbal agreement (nothing has been signed) with a person to do an estate sale after our father passed away. The workers she had coming in to help unpack boxes, wanted the guns and ammunition removed from the home because it made them nervous. When we asked the estate sale person about the... Read more »
answered on Apr 9, 2023
Since you do not have a written contract, it is unclear what your legal rights actually are. Maybe you should ask this estate sale auctioneer for a written contract, and for the auctioneer to refrain from selling any more items without that. If you want to approve the price of items or reserve... Read more »
Or do these fall under the step up basis? Like real estate.
answered on Mar 29, 2023
Good question. Whether you must pay income tax on your inheritance of US Savings Bonds depends on your individual tax situation, and can't be answered in this forum or given the limited information here. You should consult a CPA or tax attorney for more information. You can also find some... Read more »
My daughter has been on SSI sense age 16 and is cognitively impaired . Her mom is her payee because she is incapable of handling her own finance's, she is being manipulated by a boyfriend that she's had for about 4 months now and he wants control of her finances and they are both addicts... Read more »
answered on Mar 27, 2023
If you are the parent of someone who is unable to handle his or her own affairs, you can file a petition for guardianship, and if there are assets that need protection, you can also file a petition for conservatorship. A guardian and conservator is someone who is appointed by the court to be... Read more »
He is not mentally able to handle her estate, nor is his brother (who is also homeless).
answered on Mar 15, 2023
Yes, a lawyer can represent a person with diminished mental capacity, if the person consents. Under the rules of ethics a lawyer should take whatever steps are necessary to allow a person with diminished capacity to participate in the representation as much as they are capable of doing.
A... Read more »
My late parents made me trustee and requested (in writing) that my siblings and I hold onto their farmland for 5 years before selling. But I saw a question on the IRS 1041 this year asking whether the trust has been in existence for 2 years or longer (and to justify why). Is there a federal or... Read more »
answered on Mar 9, 2023
No, a simple trust does not have to be closed within 2 years of the grantor's death. But it appears you may have misread the question on IRS Form 1041. On 2022 IRS Form 1041 page 3, at question 8, it asks "If the decedent’s estate has been open for more than 2 years, attach an... Read more »
I’m considered a person of interest in a probate case and a relative has been asking a mutual family friend to help get me to sign papers for my deceased grandparents property. I’m not interested in this property at all, however I refuse to speak to nor cooperate with this relative simply... Read more »
answered on Feb 17, 2023
An "interested person" under Michigan law is someone who is entitled to notice in a probate case for due process reasons. Interested persons are notified of the proceedings so they can participate in the process if they want to.
From your question it sounds like you don't... Read more »
My mother died last week and lived in an apartment above her married boyfriends garage. He claims she had previously given him authority over everything in the event of her death and that he couldn't find the paper. He has thus far managed to make all the arrangements, have her body moved to... Read more »
answered on Jan 16, 2023
First, I'm sorry for your loss. You may or may not need to become executor of your mother's estate. In Michigan, the executor is called the personal representative of the estate. You may wish to seek appointment as personal representative of the estate if your mother had assets which... Read more »
Scenario is settling affairs of second to die spouse with A/B trust in place along with pour-over will, and personal property transfer document. First settlor died 15 years ago, second settlor is still alive.
Irrevocable portion of trust currently contains properly titled real property and... Read more »
answered on Dec 21, 2022
It sounds like you are on the right track, based on what information you provided in your question. The decision whether probate is necessary usually hinges on whether there are any assets which require probate administration. Opening a probate estate is sometimes done even if there are not assets,... Read more »
They never shared a marital home he lived with my mother the entire time. She chose to live with her ex-husband and their two youngest children. Unfortunately, my nephew died in the hospital not because of the treatment the doctors were giving him, but because of his lifestyle the treatments... Read more »
answered on Nov 21, 2022
Certain people have the right to participate in probate court proceedings for a decedent estate. These people are called "interested persons" as defined by Michigan law. For example, a deceased person's spouse is an interested person. If the deceased person had any surviving... Read more »
Father passed away and us 3 siblings had an estate lawyer and were dealing with things. Older sibling got nasty and greedy and was able to take our original estate lawyer and come at us. We now have our own lawyer to represent our interests, but we are worried that the older sibling is abusing time... Read more »
answered on Oct 12, 2022
First, you have your own lawyer - why not ask him or her this question?
Second, your personal liability to the attorney for attorney fees is a matter of contract. It depends on whether you and the brother signed a retainer agreement with the attorney agreeing to pay the attorney's... Read more »
Does that legally mean it’s just her money or would that money have to go into an estate and be split
answered on Oct 6, 2022
Bank accounts that have a payable on death beneficiary designation on them pass outside of probate. That means if your father-in-law named someone as a beneficiary to his bank account, the money belongs to that person, and that person alone, upon your father-in-law's death. That person (she?)... Read more »
I have asked to see them but they have refused to show the documents to me
answered on Sep 30, 2022
Your brother and sister have no obligation to share your mother's power of attorney or your mother's trust with you in a strict legal sense. If your mother is living, then it is likely the trust is revocable and she is the only present beneficiary of the trust, and no one else is entitled... Read more »
My mother is 97yo. She has no property that she owns and no car. She is in hospice and close to death. Her assets include only 3 POD CDs, a checking account (current values < $50,000 for monthly recurring bills; one credit card with a balance of < $100; a Savings account of just over $1,000;... Read more »
answered on Sep 22, 2022
Respectfully, I disagree with my colleague's answer above. The trustee of a trust has a duty to publish notice to creditors after death of the grantor. See MCL 700.7608.
700.7608 Duty of trustee to give notice.
Sec. 7608.
If there is no personal representative of the... Read more »
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