good question. probate should be administered where the decedent was a resident at the time of death. With your facts, I would presume that California would be the appropriate state for probate as him being in North Carolina the last 5 days of his life would establish his residency in North... View More

It seems like you would be the heirs according to intestacy laws. You can inquire with the company who holds the Pension. If there was a death benefit it might have beneficiaries on it. If there are no beneficiaries, then the estate would be entitled to any death benefit and it depends on the... View More

Hello Sasha. You mention and will and a trust. Do you have a copy of any documents from your grandfather or know the attorney that he might have used? You will have a very hard time without copies of anything. You can also check title to any property he owned to see if it was recorded into a trust.... View More

The small estate affidavit involves ALL assets outside of trust or that would otherwise be subject to probate. So if there are other assets that would be subject to probate that make the total value above $166,250.00, then a small estate affidavit would not work

Yes, you most likely need to hire an attorney and get a petition filed in probate court. You should start by either checking title on the properties or having the attorney check title to ensure the properties are held in his name alone as his separate property.

Typically the amount of beneficiaries listed is not an issue. It depends on the size of the estate and if there is enough assets to fulfill the amount of potential gifts listed in the will as well as your ability to properly contact all the beneficiaries listed as they will all have to be notified... View More

If the estate has cash, it is possible under the probate code to file an ex parte petition to do a preliminary distribution of up to 50% of the estate. But eventually you will have to do your accounting and petition for final distribution to be able to distribute everything.

Yes, if your grandmother did not have a will you and any siblings you might have will take your father's share.

Unfortunately trusts are usually private and usually no public record of their content exists. There are some requirements of the trustee that require notice to be sent to all beneficiaries and heirs and if you are named in the trust you do have a right to a copy of it. I would be curious to know... View More

I agree with Mr. Palley. The value should be calculated by all accounts your brother owned, not just ones in California. However, the small estate affidavit is a CA law and you might be hard pressed to get a bank in NJ to follow that law. There may be a different process for assets in NJ.

It depends exactly how you are on the deed. If you are named as joint tenants then most likely you will not need to go through probate. If it says anything besides joint tenants then you might need probate.

Yes, a Heggstad Petition is a trust petition and does not require an estate to be opened to file. The trustee typically files the petition and has standing as the trustee to file in the county where the trust is being administered

Yes, notice still needs to be sent to all persons named in a will.

If title is held as joint tenants then he gets the entire property. The loan doesn't matter for who inherits, it is title that rules. If title does not specify that they hold the property as joint tenants then it most likely will be 50/50 and you would share in your mother's half.

The biggest question is did your grandmother have a will or trust? If so, the answer lies there. Also, if you dad was the only child of this grandmother who are the aunts? If there are aunts then I would assume they are also children of the grandmother and they would have a right to the estate as... View More

It depends on if there was a will or trust for your grandfather that gave everything to your uncle or if your uncle was on title. If any of those are true then it is possible that it will eventually be all his, but if you have lived there for 5 years you have rights as a tenant, even if you do not... View More

I typically put a provision like this in the person's trust. Your mom should get a trust done and add this provision to her trust and make sure the property is owned in the trust.

It depends how you are on the deed. If it names you both as joint tenants then no probate should be necessary. If there is no survivorship clause of some kind on the deed, then you possibly will have to put her part through probate.

The beneficiaries are absolutely entitled to an accounting. If the executor is not giving information on funds you can demand an accounting and if one is not presented or if the trustee is causing the administration to stall then a beneficiary or cotrustee can petition the court to remove the... View More

You will have to petition to take over your parents' estate. Then their estate will distribute your brother's share to his estate since he survived his parents. The there would have to be a probate for your brother's estate that would go to his children assuming he was not married.