Q: My mother passed in April. My stepfather received the insurance money and decided to waive his claim to my mothers house
That would leave it to me and my brother. I talked to his attorney in early July and she told me she would be mailing the waiver to me and also advised me not to open probate until 6 months after my mothers death date. I have finally gotten the waiver here in early October and I see it was filed in probate July 25th. My questions are "Does the 6 month period that creditors have to make claims start from the death date or from the date that probate is started?" Also did my stepfathers attorney initiate probate by filing the waive on July 25th after advising me not to do so until after 6 months passed? If so is my mothers estate open to claims by her creditors now because of that? I have gotten a few bills nothing that would take the house away. What should I do now that the 6 month period I was waiting is now next week? Thank you anyone that can help
A: A creditor has 6 months from date of death to present a claim. Probate is initiated by someone filing with the probate court to administer an estate. Check the probate court web site to determined if a probate case has been opened for the decedent. If not, then use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local probate attorney to review the facts, answer your questions, advise you of your options, and assist you in opening the estate if not already done.
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