Q: Parents died without a will if all siblings agree can we decide what happensto the estate?
A:
Maybe. If your parents died without a will, then their estate passes by intestacy. The deceased's children are second in line (after the surviving spouse, if any) to get the deceased's estate. This can get complicated real fast, though, especially if there are half siblings or other relatives who suddenly appear.
You may also have to go through the intestacy procedure in the probate court to change title to things like the family home, etc. If you change the title another way, you could run in to tax problems, among others.
A lot of the time, the kids just decide informally amongst themselves what to do when mom and dad die. There is no one policing to see if the probate is done right or the trust administered correctly. The problem arises (the other shoe falls, so to speak) when it comes to things like property taxes, for example, when the county says they want the legal owner (say mom) to sign papers which she obviously can't since she's deceased.
Andy
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