No. Your ex-stepsister would not have any claim to your mother's estate unless your mother had, at some point, left anything to her under a will. In this situation, where she "willed everything" to you, your ex-stepsister's only claim could be under a different or prior will,... View More

From the facts as you state them, the deed created a tenancy in common between you and your wife, because that is the default rule in Maine unless the deed states otherwise. What this means is, when she died, her property share passed to her heirs rather than to you as the surviving tenant, so you... View More

Nina Whitehurst Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on Nov 30, 2019

If your mom’s will truly was written the way you described it, no, the wife has no chance of inheriting.

It's not possible to give meaningful guidance with such little information. Are these demands from the state related to Medicaid payments for your aunt's medical care? If not, what is the demand related to? If for medical bills, you would have to compare what your aunt paid, and... View More

You can petition the Probate Court to be appointed as personal representative, but if there is a contest, the Probate Code dictates whom must be given priority.

Your mother should write a will in which she nominates you as the Personal Representative (PR) of her estate. I do not know of any form that should be filed with the Probate Court before she passes. After she passes, you would file the will and Petition to court for you to be appointed as PR.... View More

First you need to see if he left a will. if so did he name a personal representative, if he did it was probably his wife unless he changed his will after filing for divorce. Second you need to check how the real estate was held ie joint tenants or tenants in common. If joint tenants as most people... View More

You have raised a number of issues. It seems to me as if the most important point is that there is someone living in your deceased mother's house who doesn't have a right to live there. Even if someone has permission from someone else to live there, the person living there should be... View More

Suggest you contact an elder law attorney as they handle similar issues. You can get them to be able to make decisions but you first want to protect yourself which is why I suggest an elderlaw attorney. They should be a certified elder law attorney.

You totally have something to do with it ... if you want to inherit the crappy home trailer and anything else that might be in your grandfather's estate. Based strictly on what you are sharing here for information, it seems like you (and any of your siblings) are in line to inherit your... View More

Your questions bring up a number of issues. In answer to your first question: generally, yes, each child should share equally in someone’s estate, unless the person who died indicated that one or more children should not share in the inheritance. In your specific case, based on your second... View More

I'll make three points: First, if your attorney has entered her appearance on your behalf with the probate court, she needs the court’s permission to withdraw, except in limited circumstances. If the court grants that permission, the court should also be willing to grant you a “Motion to... View More

“Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship” would be at least more convenient for you as to title to the house, CU account, and cars. If that were the case, you could avoid having to open your husband's estate in Probate Court to transfer title to those assets if he were to predecease you.... View More

I hesitated to answer this question because it lacks detail, but if I assume that the check was made payable to your mother, the problem is that she has passed, so she cannot deposit it. The general rule is that a check made payable to someone who has died cannot be cashed or deposited – rather,... View More

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Now that your mother is dead, the power of attorney that her boyfriend had is no longer in effect.

There are a lot of variables to consider when trying to figure out what happens to her estate generally, and you should definitely contact a probate... View More

This question appears to be incomplete, because it lacks a final punctuation mark, but I will answer that generally, the personal representative of an estate is required by statute to "... file or furnish an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of his death ...." (This... View More

Assuming everything you have written above is correct, then I do not see any conflict. You all seem to be in agreement that the property should go to your step-mother's children. The only concern I would have is if you or your siblings do not understand whatever document you are asked to sign.... View More

Smilie Gregg Rogers Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
answered on May 18, 2013

If the power of attorney is effective (powers are sometimes conditioned on events (such as a determination of lack of capacity) and are not therefore always immediately effective) and the principal did not communicate any revocation of the agent's powers to the agent, then it is likely that... View More