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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Family Law, Elder Law and Probate for New Mexico on
Q: My father is being financially exploited and is experiencing undue influence from my I brother and son how can I stop it

My 83 yr old father has my 55 yr old brother who has lived in my fathers home for 14 yrs without having any job and my 40 yr old son has lived there consistently for aprox 21 yrs never paying for anything either. My father has been diagnosed with dementia but has a fluctuating cognitive impairment.... View More

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answered on Dec 19, 2024

You can file your own report with adult protective services. But chances are that will not bring any relief. The only real solution is to hire an attorney to petition the court to appoint you as guardian and conservator for your father. If you have limited means you might try your local legal aid... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for California on
Q: Can you cancel an irreversible trust

Our irreversible trust provides that our daughter gets our home. She is of the opinion that she wants us to be able to sell the home to -rovide for senior care and residential care.

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answered on Dec 16, 2024

Often the whole point of an irrevocable trust is to avoid having to sell the home to pay for care, thus ensuring that your children will at least inherit the home if nothing else. Your care is paid for out of savings and when that runs out then Medicaid picks up the tab. When you pass your... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Elder Law for Indiana on
Q: Are there any significant disadvantages to having a TOD (transfer on death) agreement for one's brokerage accounts?
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answered on Dec 15, 2024

Transfer on death designations can work well when everyone dies in the correct order. Unfortunately, that does not always happen. If a TOD beneficiary dies before the account holder passes, it can sometimes be unclear what happens next. If you have named a contingent beneficiary and that person... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Tennessee on
Q: My husband died on Jan. 3 2024, and his estate was set up with TOD's on all financial holdings except his bank account.

How can I disperse the funds without probate.

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answered on Dec 14, 2024

If the bank account was in both names, then just present a death certificate and they will take his name off the account and leave your name on. If the bank account was in your husband's name alone and the balance is under $50,000, then you can collect it with a small estate petition. If the... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Probate and Real Estate Law for California on
Q: Hello, I just inherited property with a mortgage through probate. The decedent was my aunt.

I inherited the property as equally shared between my mom (decedent's sister), my sibling, and I. From prior research, I thought we would have to "assume" the mortgage, but now I see that we could be "successors of interest"? Would we be able to stay as... View More

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answered on Dec 13, 2024

IF THIS IS A HOME, pursuant to the Garn-St. Germain Act, the lender cannot call the loan due solely because the borrower died and relatives now own the home. But the lender can foreclose if the payments are past due.

Pursuant to other federal regulations, none of the inheritors must...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Pennsylvania on
Q: My mother recently passed and had $5000 lifeinsurance policies on my sister and me. What happens if we cash out now?
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answered on Dec 3, 2024

If you have inherited those policies such that you are now the owners, and if they have cash value, you probably can cash them out for their cash values. But cash values are sometimes far less than the death benefit so that might not be the smartest move from a financial planning point of view,... View More

3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Family Law for Florida on
Q: i added my son to my home deed about 10 years ago

i would like to remove him ...can it be done?

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answered on Nov 22, 2024

Removing him from the deed will require his signatures. This is exactly why I advise my clients never to “add” children to their deeds. This is a classic do-it-yourself estate planning mistake that might conceivably cost you way more than you would have spent on proper estate planning. If your... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Colorado on
Q: In Colorado,along with a notary does a doctor have to sign your DNR within your living will advanced directives ?

I'm doing research for my end of life planning and ran across this item I never heard of before.... doctors signature on DNR's as well as notaries to make the DNR within the Advance Directive/Living will legally binding ref given me : Colorado Revised Statute 15-18.6. etal

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answered on Nov 18, 2024

Under Colorado Law there is a mechanism for a doctor to appoint a healthcare decisionmaker for you if you have not already done so and are unable to do so now. This can easily be avoided by appointing a healthcare decisionmaker yourself while you are capable. Your healthcare decisionmaker... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Family Law, Real Estate Law and Probate for Maine on
Q: My mom passed away with no will. My brother was living with her at the time of her death. I asked him if I could move in

Are we allowed to live in the house while dealing with probate? If we are do we continue to pay the mortgage payment as it is? Or do we have to pay fair Market value rent for the house to remain living in it until it's sold to close out the estate?

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answered on Nov 17, 2024

If the mortgage payments do not get paid in a timely manner by someone, the lender will have the right to foreclose and all heirs lose their equity in the home.

If you and your brother are the sole heirs and the home does not need to be sold to pay your mother’s debts, you each have...
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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Arizona on
Q: Can I file in Pima County to become her Personal Representative if my sister died in Maricopa County?

My sister died in Glendale on recently. She did not have a will. She does not have many assets, but she does have a fair amount of debt, including owing on a mobile home and lot where the trailer may be condemned (she was a hoarder and the trailer is in very bad condition).

Our mother is... View More

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answered on Nov 12, 2024

You need to file in the county in which your sister resided immediately prior to her death. If she lived in Pima County and then just happened to die while visiting Maricopa County then you could file in Pima County. But if she lived in Maricopa County when she died then you do need to file in... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Tennessee on
Q: Clamming land that was quite clammed deeded and now person's are dead

A portion of property from original property was quite claim deeded to persons that are now dead . How to go about getting that piece of land back

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answered on Oct 25, 2024

There are too many facts missing from your narrative to answer your question in any definitive way. As to each name on the deed an attorney would need to know if the person died testate or intestate, where he or she died, whether the estate was ever probated and where, if the death was recent... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law and Probate for California on
Q: Can a grant deed that will be filed in California be notarized in Oregon?

Real property will be transferred via probate. Executor currently has work in Oregon so we would like to know if it can be done this way for convenience. Thank you!

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answered on Oct 25, 2024

Yes, a deed can be notarized anywhere is the US (notarizing outside the US is more complicated) and then recorded in California. But California will (wrongfully in my opinion) insist on the use of the California statutory notarial affidavit. The trick is finding an out of state notary who knows how... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Tennessee on
Q: What is a "non statutory, non grantor,irrevocable, discretionary,complex, spendthrift" trust? Social media scams?

I'm seeing a lot of social media "gurus" tout this specific language when referring to set up a trust. They say a lawyer cannot set these up and the only way to sue the trust is in the supreme Court.

It's very obvious that this is a scam but without a legal background I... View More

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answered on Sep 29, 2024

The IRS released a memo on August 9, 2023, discussing non-grantor, irrevocable, complex, discretionary, spendthrift trust.

The memo was limited to rebutting the promoters misinterpretation of IRC 643 on the avoidance of income tax. The link to the memo is below....
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Alabama on
Q: What is best and safest to secure the transfer of ownership of a my house/property to my daughter.

Im 36 fully own a property with home and want to know the best and secure way to ensure the transfer of ownership to my daughter in the situation of my sudden demise so the property can't be legally sold or anything without my daughter being a legal adult to make her own decisions regarding... View More

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answered on Sep 27, 2024

Placing the home in a revocable living trust would work well in this situation. You retain total control during your lifetime and when you pass the house passes to a successor trustee for the benefit of your daughter. You would want to put all of your assets in the trust so they can all be managed... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Tax Law for Rhode Island on
Q: Can I name 3 people on my life estate

Im drawing up a life estate deed and want to name biological son, step-son and there mother whom I was never married to. I want my son and his mom to live in the home’ for life’. My step-son owns his own home but don’t want to leave him out..Will that be an investment property to my step-son... View More

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answered on Sep 25, 2024

Your intentions are unclear. Do you want to grant a life estate to your son and his mother for their joint lives, remainder to you? (So you move out while they are alive and then move back in when they die.) Or do you want to convey the property to them, reserving a life estate to yourself? (You... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Health Care Law and Elder Law for Tennessee on
Q: My MIL lives with me in TN and has property in NC that is not habitable. Is property protected asset with medicaid

She is in need of long term facility care.

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answered on Sep 19, 2024

If the property your MIL owns in NC is in her name, it would be a countable asset for Medicaid qualification purposes and would most likely be disqualifying. However, there are techniques that can be used to obtain Medicaid qualification while still owning the property and trying to sell it. An... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Tax Law for New York on
Q: A parent has a trust with 2 beneficiaries. Give a house to one kid now and give half the value to the other.

A parent has a trust with 2 beneficiaries. We would like to move a house into a separate trust with only one beneficiary. So the house is being given to one child but the other should get half of the 2024 value somehow

Not sure the best way to do this so the other child gets half the 2024... View More

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answered on Aug 30, 2024

Giving the house to one beneficiary now could have many unintended negative consequences such as loss of step up in basis at the death of the gift giver and a hefty Medicaid penalty period assessed against the gift giver on account of the lifetime uncompensated transfer.

This is not the...
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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Colorado on
Q: What form is needed to fund a living trust with real estate
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answered on Aug 29, 2024

A deed is used to transfer real property to a living trust. The deed must be recorded in the land records of the county in which the real property is located. There are several types of deeds. An attorney can help you prepare and record the right kind with the right claims for exemptions from... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning on
Q: I am an estate trustee (live in Ontario Canada)- how responsible am i to fulfill this obligation?

My sister died 3 years ago and left me as the trustee (QD Trust) funds for her daughter. I'm honoured she trusted me but...

My niece (31 years old) is on odsp (for disability) but is drug dependent and lives on the streets. I had her in an apartment and everything was taken care of... View More

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answered on Aug 28, 2024

Your situation is way to complicated for this free legal answers forum. You have more issues than you realize, not the least of which is your sister managed to create a foreign trust with special reporting requirements. You really need to hire an experienced trust administration attorney in the... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Real Estate Law for Georgia on
Q: A friend's father recently died while in hospice care at a nurse home . Before he died, someone took items from his home

The person in question had a key , and in front of two deputies, claimed she had some of her property in deceased's home.. and proceeded to fill three pick-up trucks with items removed from the home . Deceased has a will, yet to be addressed, isn't illegal to remove any items until any... View More

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answered on Sep 20, 2024

It is not illegal for a person to take property that belongs to him or her if that can be done without trespassing.

It is illegal, of course, for a person to steal from the estate, i.e. to take personal property that does not belong to him or her.

If this individual did steal from...
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