I reside in the state of PA. My minor son (he is 4) is a beneficiary on his deceased fathers life insurance policy. The insurance company is requesting that I get court documentation to show that I have been appointed as the guardian of my minors estate. I cannot for the life of me find the form... Read more »
answered on Feb 6, 2023
A guardianship of a minor's estate is required if the amount of the minor's assets exceeds $25,000.00. A guardianship of a minor's would be established by petitioning through the Orphans Court Division of the Court in your county.
It is important to note, however that while... Read more »
I am selling commercial property with both our names on deeds. We were in the process of doing this together before his passing but never started any listing etc. I just want to sell as is, no contingency, cash only. Must I probate the will or can I just proceed as we were planning?
answered on Oct 25, 2022
If both you and your husband's name are on the deeds for these properties, then your ownership probably was "tenancy by the entireties" - a form of ownership for married couples under which when one spouse dies, the suriving spouse becomes the sole owner by survivorship. The... Read more »
answered on Sep 28, 2022
The short answer is no. The house must pass through the estate administration. The executor must first ensure that your grandfather's debts, if any are addressed, that the administrative expenses of the estate are paid, and the required inheritance tax and any other tax obligations that may... Read more »
The "wife" died and house was in both names. Would common law marriage be able to apply in this circumstance when there is no will that everything would go to the "husband". My research on internet looks like yes it can as long as they were together before 2005. The lawyer... Read more »
answered on Jun 17, 2022
Pennsylvania law says: "No common-law marriage contracted after January 1, 2005, shall be valid." If the couple were together since before 2005, there MAY be a common law marriage. However, validity of a common law marriage requires more than just living together for a certain period of... Read more »
It has a 26 thousand dollars balance, can I keep it or do I have to sell it?
answered on Jun 7, 2022
To fully answer your question would require additional information because whether or not you can keep the house will depend upon a number of factors. Are there other assets which can be used to pay off the mortgage? Are there other debts beside the mortgage which must be paid? Are there other... Read more »
Funeral expenses will be paid by family members. He had less than $250 in the bank, and once Social Security re-claims the pro-rated portion of his monthly benefit paid at the beginning of the month, there will be insufficient funds. There is no life insurance, property, vehicle, etc. Can the... Read more »
answered on Jun 2, 2022
As a practical matter, if the credit card issuers are notified by letter that your father is deceased, there are no assets available to pay their bills and the family is not raising an estate administration, the likely result will be they will write off the balance. To the extent there is any... Read more »
My parents helped my sibling(1) buy a house and also provided money to make improvements - new roof, bathroom(s) remodeled, etc. Now both my parents are incapacitated. My other sibling(2) has power of attorney over both of them, and used the power to re-title the property in sibling(1) name only,... Read more »
answered on Apr 27, 2022
There is not a clear answer to this question. It would be necessary to review the Power of Attorney document to see if it grants to the agent the power to make such a gift. It would also be necessary to evaluate whether or not this transfer was in the interest of the parents (such as for estate... Read more »
The are five sibling and the will specifies that the estate be settled equally; each sibling receiving 20%. My sister lived with my father prior to his passing and continues to occupy the property. She is the executrix of the estate and has specifically denied us access to the house. We want to... Read more »
answered on Mar 30, 2022
The executrix stands as your deceased father's personal representative so she can decide who can enter the property. The rest of the beneficiaries have a beneficial interest. If you believe the estate is not being administered properly or the property is not being maintained, you can file a... Read more »
answered on Mar 23, 2022
If your father was a resident of Pennsylvania and did not have a will, the Pennsylvania intestate succession law would apply. In a situation where the deceased was married and one or more of his children was not also the child of the spouse, then the spouse's share would be one-half of the... Read more »
For example, a husband passes and has standard bank accounts in excess of $50k in his name only that in his will are left to his daughter. His surviving spouse takes Elective Share. Is the surviving spouse eligible to receive the 1/3 share of those accounts? This situation being in Pennsylvania.
answered on Mar 18, 2022
These bank accounts are counted as part of the total of assets that count toward calculating the 1/3 elective share even if the accounts were specifically left the decedent's daughter. Whether the surviving spouse actually receives money out of the accounts depends upon whether there are... Read more »
Yes, my sister and I plan on keeping the house for the foreseeable future. How would I go about getting this data, county assessed value and common level ratio, to compute what we owe in tax?
answered on Mar 8, 2022
The inheritance tax on the house is based upon its value on the date of death. The PA Department of Revenue allows a choice of three methods for determining the date of death value. One is gross sale price, if sold within 15 months after date of death, which apparently does not apply to your... Read more »
My husband and daughter are co-owners on the deed for the property that we currently have 2 homes on. They have owned this property for 9 years. My daughter is getting married in July. My question is 2 fold. 1. If my husband dies before me, does his share become mine? 2. If my daughter divorces,... Read more »
answered on Feb 15, 2022
To completely answer your question, I would need more information. Concerning the first part of your question, what happens in the event of your husband dying before you, it depends upon the form of shared titled your husband and daughter have on this property. If your husband and daughter own... Read more »
He does have a sister also. I don't want the house or car or anything to do with it
answered on Feb 1, 2022
In Pennsylvania, you can sign a document called a "disclaimer" which indicates you wish to not receive either all or part of what you would inherit. If you sign a disclaimer, for purposes of the estate administration, you would be considered to have died before your father. The question... Read more »
My husband recently passed while we were on a COVID assistance mortgage plan. For the last couple of months I have been trying to get off of the plan but the mortgage company will not let me without assuming the mortgage. You see my husband was the only one on the mortgage but we are both listed... Read more »
answered on Dec 27, 2021
Please accept my condolences for your loss. Perhaps an easier way to address this problem is to work around it. If you and your husband were both on the deed, that is a tenancy by the entireties which means that upon your husband's death, by the rule of survivorship, you became the sole... Read more »
I know the 3 surviving children of my Mother's split her estate. Does that include the 2 deceased son's as well? Do their children get a piece of my Mother's estate without a will?
answered on Aug 2, 2021
Under Pennsylvania law when there is no will, assuming that your mother was not married at the time of her death, the estate would be divided into equal shares - one share for each living child and one share for each deceased child who has living children or descendants. Each living child would... Read more »
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