Yes, even though the court doesn't do much, when the tax return is filed to clear any possible lien on the property, the court will assess the probate fee.

Yes, you have a claim against your brother's estate. Probate court where you father died should have copies of the various filings in your father's estate. They should show the amount you were entitled to and then you'd have to prove he kept that money and didn't pay it out to... Read more »

First, my heart goes out to you in this difficult time.

Now to answer the question. You and/or your daughter should be entitled to your husband's share of his brother's estate. Your husband was alive at the time of his brother's death, so he (or in this case his estate)... Read more »

Most states require notice to all heirs (relatives who would inherit property if the decedent died without a will) if there is an application to admit a will to probate. That doesn't happen until after death. But nowadays, a lot of assets pass outside of probate, by joint account or... Read more »

Yes, the beneficiaries can agree on a distribution different from the will without a will contest.

The funds in the joint account became yours upon your mother's death and you are entitled to keep them. That being said, if your name was added as a convenience, and your mother did not explicitly say she wanted you to have the money and not include it as part of the estate, your brother... Read more »

The answer to that seemingly simple question is rather complex. To start, you should be considering setting up a couple of special needs trusts (SNT's). The first trust would be a 3rd party SNT, which is funded by assets owned by a third party (meaning not your child). The second trust is a... Read more »

If you are a beneficiary of the trust, you have the right to ask the probate court to get involved to look at your complaints about how he is handling things. Whether the court will remove him depends on the nature of the problems and probably on the terms of the trust. You should contact an... Read more »

This is a hard question. Even a person with dementia may have the mental capacity to sign a will or codicil if he knows what he is signing, knows the natural objects of his bounty (his children, relatives, etc.) and knows the extent of his estate.

You can file to become the administrator of the estate. Connecticut law states that if a person dies without a will, and has no spouse, the assets in the estate go to the children.

You can petition the probate court to have a conservator appointed for your father. This will give you the power to take control and manage assets in his name.

You can contact the probate court and possibly ask that the executor be removed for failing to act in accordance with the will. My best advice is to start with the probate court. Even a letter to the judge may get the issue front and center.

This would be what is called "self-dealing." If the POA document itself allows self dealing transactions, it would most likely be ok assuming that the terms of the transaction are fair. But self-dealing transactions are looked at very closely, so it needs to be a fair deal based on fair values.