Even though it says I may live here till I Die, Marry or move then it goes to his children or am I the sole owner because he quit claim deeded the property to me in the trust?
answered on Feb 14, 2024
You should definitely consult with an estate planning attorney to review the trust agreement and determine what your rights are and explain it to you. It sounds like you are a trust beneficiary for life, but there will be specific terms in the trust agreement that determine what rights you have as... View More
I was named the PR/executor in deceased's will. Will was submitted to the court. Formal probate was initiated, but then before I was named PR, it was converted to summary administration (there is no court-appointed PR in summary administration) because the only asset needing probate was the... View More
answered on Feb 1, 2024
I often have this conversation with clients after summary administration. In your situation, your last opportunity for reimbursement of estate related and real estate related expenses is at the time of the real estate closing. You are going to want to provide proof of payment of these expenses to... View More
Neither have a Will. Can I sell the house without probate nor haveto give any proceeds to my step-dads children, because he wasn’t on the deed?
answered on Jan 23, 2024
I am so sorry to hear about your mother's illness. Yes, because the property is in her name only and not in a trust or some other probate avoidance strategy, you will need to file a probate case to transfer the property to you when your mother passes away. If your mother's husband... View More
I didn’t want to file Summary Probate because costs and hassle are disproportionate in order to cash this small check. Deceased was elderly. No debts. No family. I’m Named as executor in his will, but saw no need to even file it with the court, much less open probate since there’s no estate... View More
answered on Dec 30, 2023
Unfortunately, you will need an order from a judge for the check to be reissued to an individual, not the estate. If you or anyone else paid funeral expenses or final medical bills out of pocket, you can file a disposition of personal property without administration for which the clerk of court... View More
In the next couple of months, I expect to receive 3-4 checks of varying amounts between $2k and 4$, all totaling around $12k. Some are IRS refunds, some are prorated insurance premium refunds and some are sold stock shares. I have a will naming me as the executor, the death certificate and will... View More
answered on Oct 31, 2023
If the order of summary administration lists these checks and that they are to be paid 100% to you, then you can get a certified copy of the court order and send it together with the checks which are likely to be made out to the estate of the deceased and have them reissued to you. If the... View More
We received a notice that my mom’s will could not be approved because, “A witness to the will has the same last name as the notary. If the relationship is one enumerated in Fla. Stat. 117.107 (11), the will is not self -proving. Fla. Stat. §§732.502, 733.201(1), 732.503; Fla. Prob. R. 5.210,... View More
answered on Oct 25, 2023
It appears that your mother's will is valid but it is not self-proving. The issue is not that the witness was or was not related to your mother. The issue is that the witness was related to the notary. The Florida Notary statute clearly states that a notary cannot notarize the signature of a... View More
My wife’s brother is the executor of the will. We are selling the house that I am making the mortgage payments on. The mortgage is in my father in laws name and the executor is demanding that all proceeds go into the deceased estate and he is entitled to 1/3 after he settles the estate using the... View More
answered on Sep 28, 2023
If this property is joint tenants with rights of survivorship between your late father in law and you and your wife, then you and your wife are the 100% owners. All you would have needed to do is record his death certificate. If these are the facts, then the property is not part of the estate. You... View More
I have spent the last 12 days - all day long - contacting every probate attorney in the area. The regular probate attorneys say I need a litigation attorney but the litigation attorneys say any attorney can do it in a few minutes and it is not a litigation issue. I am running out of time and... View More
answered on Aug 24, 2023
Filing an objection means that you are contesting something about this estate, and may probate attorneys including myself do not handle adversarial matters. For that reason, yes, you would need to retain someone who either is willing to handle an adversarial estate or handles probate litigation. If... View More
Can the remainderman be the grantee if an enhanced life estate is reserved to the grantor as the life tenant?
answered on Aug 9, 2023
It is important that deeds are prepared correctly. If you are in doubt, please work with an estate planning or real estate attorney to prepare your deed. That being said, to answer your question in general, the homeowner is the grantor, and both the homeowner, as to a life estate with certain... View More
He had credit card debt, so a signed affidavit that he had no debt isn’t possible, but everything I read says that affidavit is required in this scenario- but everything I read also says car should be exempt? If car is exempt from credit card debtor, how do we transfer ownership to my mother if... View More
answered on Jul 20, 2023
If your mom has moved to another state, you should be able to skip the step of transferring title in Florida by taking the Florida title and his death certificate to the tag office in the state where she resides and see what title transfer on death form that state uses. In Florida probate is not... View More
answered on Jun 27, 2023
Thank you for your question. A probate would be required to transfer the property from your late father's name to the heirs. Then quitclaim deeds from the heirs to you would serve to transfer clear title to you. Without probate there is a gap in the chain of title from your father to his... View More
The funding is described as: "all that tangible and intangible personal property owned by (the Grantor) not requiring legal evidence of ownership." What exactly does this mean? I understand it would exclude real estate or vehicles requiring deed or title. Would it include membership in an... View More
answered on Jun 26, 2023
Thanks for your question. In addition to the funding language included on a schedule attached to a trust agreement or in the trust agreement itself, certain assets such as bank accounts and real estate must actually be retitled during the grantor's lifetime in order to be made part of the... View More
I have completed the entire form for Pinellas county, however the other beneficiary lives in Europe and neither she nor I have been able to figure out how to satisfy this requirement:
"PROOF OF SERVICE OF FORMAL NOTICE
Under penalties of perjury, I swear or affirm that on... View More
answered on May 15, 2023
Hi! Thanks for your question. If the other person is also an heir or other interested party, they can sign a joinder, waiver and consent to the petition. This joinder, waiver and consent form also includes language stating that the person waives notice and hearing. If you can find the joinder,... View More
No single account more than $10,000. Cumulative is about $13,000.
answered on May 10, 2023
Thank you for your question. You will most likely need to open a probate estate and get an order of summary administration from the Court in the county where your mother resided and then include a certified copy of that order in the packet that you send to State of Florida Unclaimed Property to... View More
The only items there are are the homestead property, 1 primary vehicle and the furnishings of the house which are certainly less than $20k in value. I am only just trying to sell the house, not interested in keeping it.
answered on May 10, 2023
Thank you for your question. Yes, it is most likely that you will need to open a probate estate to transfer the homestead and the other assets. When an asset such as a homestead, a vehicle, or furniture, furnishings and appliances are deemed to be "exempt property", that does not mean... View More
My mom and my aunt on a property together that is zoned as a duplex on the same lot. They wrote up an enhanced life estate deed with a lawyer stating that I would get 50% and my cousin will get 50%. My question is upon their death me and my cousin or the remainders, but does that mean that in the... View More
answered on May 6, 2023
Thanks for your question! An attorney would need to take a look at the deed to confirm my answer, but based on the facts that you have provided, you and your cousin would be remainder beneficiaries as tenants in common (not with survivorship between the two of you). This means that you would each... View More
My mother lived next door to the property that I own when she died. Since her passing, I have been making the mortgage payments on her property. The property is in Bronson, FL. I have 1 brother in Daytona and 1 in Tennessee who both claim they would like for me to have the property. When Mom filled... View More
answered on Apr 13, 2023
Once the real estate together with the mobile home goes through the probate process and the judge has issued a homestead order giving the land and the mobile home to the heirs according to their shares in the will, your siblings can sign an quitclaim deed to give their shares to you. This would all... View More
I need to put a beneficiary for my 457 and pension plan. My son is only 7. My dad is in his 60's and got remarried a few years ago. I want to know if I should use my son as the beneficiary or my father. I would want my son to have everything of mine, but since he's a minor I want to make... View More
answered on Jan 31, 2023
You should work with an estate planning attorney to prepare a last will and testament with a testamentary trust for minors built into the will. Then with the attorney's guidance, you can designate the testamentary trust in the will as the beneficiary of the retirement account, so that if you... View More
Father being abused no monies are gifts given only to his daughter and wife in Alaska I just left Alaska in November
answered on Jan 22, 2024
You should submit this question to Alaska Elder Law as you will need an opinion from the state where the elder is located .This may also be an Alaska Probate Law question if you have questions about what the estate is proposing as a distribution.
My folks 87 & 89 sold their house moved into a condo, rent until close. Now realtor is kicking them out & changed locks. They have 2 cats that’s the HOA does not allow but they were not aware when they made the deal and the HOA will not approve their rental application. They paid 1 month... View More
answered on Jan 21, 2024
This is more of a real estate or a landlord tenant question than an elder law question. I would suggest that you choose one of those categories are resubmit your question.
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