My relatives had no children, and my mother is next of kin; but very elderly. I will be appointed administrator. Just need to fill out Release Form for Aunt and then full probate due to Uncle being survivor. Only had a house and one car. I am able to provide all records of assets, liabilities,... View More 
answered on Nov 28, 2020
There are exceptions, but in my experience no matter how the attorney charges (hourly, fixed fee or by court fee schedule), a general rule of thumb is 2% of assets. Probably higher if the estate is very small and there is no Will ... which always complicates things. If you are as well organized... View More
I already gave my daughter her inheritance of 50 acres. My son gets the family house and 10 acres. My daughter is questioning whether he gets the contents of the house and vehicles and such. I want to add onto my will that my son gets all that.
answered on Nov 15, 2020
An amendment to a Will is called a "codicil." It must be executed with the same witnessing formalities as a Will. If you did this Will yourself and did not have it done by an expert estate planning lawyer, there are probably other things that are not clear and you do not realize it.... View More
My father passed away last month. The attorney who did the will is retired, possibly deceased. The bank named in the will as Executor has since been sold. They are telling me they don't do that, even though the will names the bank or it's successor. There is no real estate involved. Mom... View More
answered on Nov 9, 2020
Your question is a bit rambling, but if I understand that he owned nothing except a joint bank account, no, you are not required to probate his estate. Even if he owned a car, it can get transferred outside of probate.
answered on Nov 4, 2020
You do not own it so you cannot sell it. In order to own it, someone must open a probate estate ... but whether you own some of it or all of it will depend on the language of the Will. And if there is no will and your siblings had children, some of the ownership will pass to them.
You... View More
my situation is now that i’m older i’m trying to get the title of my grandfather’s classic car to restore it. problem is we have possession of the vehicle but no title. probate court was closed in 2010 any help would be great state ohio
answered on Oct 25, 2020
You will need to file an application in probate court to re-open the estate and transfer the vehicle. It is not at all unusual for an asset to be forgotten and not included on the inventory and account. If all the beneficiaries are still living, it is pretty routine. It can be a bit more of... View More
answered on Oct 18, 2020
If property is owned as "joint with rights of survivorship" it passes to the wife outside of probate with a simple form, and the Will has nothing to do with it. JTROS property is not a probate asset.
If the property is merely "joint" (in Ohio, that means owned as... View More
We are splitting up. I want to be as fair as possible in everything, even though I had asked him to wait on selling the house for one year and he refused. I have a realtor coming over in a little while to see what we can do. The house is valued about $30k over what we owe so we would both get a... View More
answered on Oct 1, 2020
One married spouse cannot convey clear title to a house owned in his or her own name. The non-owning spouse has "dower" rights, so must sign any deed. If you are not willing to sign the deed over to the buyer, title cannot transfer. Don't even think about going through a divorce... View More
My sister was named executor over the will. I was wondering if the joint bank accounts my mother and I had Together would have to go through the probate or would be considered part of the will.
My mother always helped her sister out with finances and my sister is trying to take out that... View More
answered on Sep 28, 2020
If the account was "Joint with Rights of Survivorship" as most "joint" accounts are, the account goes directly to you. It does not go through probate and therefore is not controlled by the Will. All you need to do is take an original death certificate and a photo ID to a bank... View More
My father passed away a week ago. He didn't have a will or anybody appointed to take care of his estate. He had no life insurance either. It's just my sister and I and we are on the same page with everything. Just wondering about next steps legally for his estate. He had a little credit... View More
answered on Sep 27, 2020
You will need to use the probate court. If the estate is small enough, there is an abbreviated process available. If you can wait 6 months you can avoid small creditor claims. I suggest you start by gathering all the asset information and consulting with an expert probate lawyer so you will... View More
My dad died with only a small bank account ($10,000) with a POD account which is now on hold until death certificate. There will be a refund from a preneed funeral account and a refund of rent from his assisted living facility. Since both were paid out of the POD bank account and that is the only... View More
answered on Sep 24, 2020
This is why no one should try DIY administration. Hopefully you have not exposed the estate assets to creditors by paying bills from his POD account prior to transferring it to your name. Estate assets can be protected from creditors (except funeral bills) by waiting 6 months to open estate, but... View More
My dad is currently sedated and on a ventilator and unable to speak or communicate in any way. My mom is his current POA, however, I am wondering what you suggest for me to be able to legally be able to work alongside my mom to help her with his small business, rental properties, etc.
answered on Aug 27, 2020
You can always work along side your mother to help her, if she wants your help. But she is the only one with legal authority, so if she doesn't want your help, there will be nothing you can do except, if you think she is not competent to handle his affairs, you could file an application for... View More
My father passed 2018. His companion lived there until she passed 7-28-20. One piece of land has a building, she was left with rights of survivorship. The other piece had the house, it wasn't left to anybody. Her son moved straight in after her death. Does he have the right to live there?
answered on Aug 14, 2020
I'm not sure about your use of the term "survivorship." You could mean that the deed was "joint, with rights of survivorship" or it could be that she just had the right to "use the property if she survived your father." A lawyer with appropriate estate or real... View More
What type of lawyer do we hire?
answered on Jul 22, 2020
Wills are individual, not joint. In the modern medical and tax world, simple Wills are not nearly enough. You should meet with an attorney who specializes in Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning. You can find a list of Certified Specialists on the Ohio State Bar Association website. Some attorneys... View More
My mother had a whole life insurance policy on my step father and my mother passed away can another person besides the insured change ownership of the policy that is not related to her? Before my mother passed away I was named as her executor.
answered on Jul 20, 2020
You are the Executor and are responsible to present her will to probate. As a part of that process, you will need to list all her assets. The insurance policy is an asset, and it will be handled in probate like every other asset. Make sure you retain the services of an expert probate attorney to... View More
name off the deed after he died and kept in her name, claiming survivor ship. In a settlement she said she would sign the property to the rightful heirs. She failed to do that, now one of the heirs has died. On what grounds can we get the probate case reopened?
answered on Jun 18, 2020
No one is going to be able to give you a good answer without looking at the documents to which you refer. You need to assemble all the information and schedule an appointment with an expert probate attorney. If there was a survivorship deed, it is valid. If she signed a prenup of some sort, it... View More
He refuses to allow me and my sisters to the home mymother owned (it's only in her name) how long does probate take? We asked the attorney that was supposed handling the case and he refused to give us information, is there anything we can do since they seem to be working against us?
answered on Jun 17, 2020
Sadly, the only thing you can do is expensive: Hire an attorney to write a stern letter to his lawyer. If that doesn't work, you will need a lawsuit to challenge his appointment as Executor because of the refusal to follow the rules. You are entitled by law to her Will and an accounting of... View More
dad left house to my brother and I but the lady he married 30 days before he died, gave her Living Rights to the estate. She has remarried but I thought she couldn't live there if she remarried. what are my rights as owner of house? I live in NC our laws are different. Please clarify. thanks you
answered on Jun 12, 2020
It depends on both the deed and the language of his documents. If she has a "life estate" in the house, and if there are no conditions on that life estate, she can live there until she dies. If your father had a will or trust that maintains the house in trust for her during her... View More
Selling house still owed to bank. Are my proceeds from that sale considered to be his estate?
answered on Jun 2, 2020
More facts are needed to answer your question. Is the house worth more than the mortgage? Did he own the house, did both of you own the house, and if both, does the deed say "joint with rights of survivorship"? Does the deed have a TOD affidavit? Did you sign on the mortgage? You... View More
Just like to know if I have any options really don’t want to have to sue my sisters but I’m pretty sure they got a lot of money and I’m hurting really bad cause of the pandemic deal
answered on May 20, 2020
If your birth certificate shows he is your father, you may have rights but you have no time to lose in contacting an expert probate lawyer to you assess those rights and determine your options.
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