A: Yes; in fact, there may be a duty for a person who has control of a will of someone who has died to deliver it to either the Personal Representative named in the will or the Probate Court in the county in which the person died (18-A M.R.S.A. Sec. 2-902). A will simply lets people know how the... View More

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

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

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

It sounds like you may be concerned that your sister may be taking advantage of your father’s assets. Your first concern should be about your father’s well-being. You could make a report to Adult Protective Services at 1-800-624-8404, but they only get involved in the most serious cases. 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

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

It would be best to talk to an estate planning lawyer about your specific situation, but the short answer is that you could leave your girlfriend a "life estate" in the house in a will (or codicil to an existing will), with the remainder going to your children. The life estate would mean... View More