Q: Am I legally responsible for putting the utilities in my name when the estate has not been settled?
My mother passed away last month. I was living with her and I was her caregiver. I have no income and she was supporting me. My sisters want me to have the utilities and the space rent put in my name but I have no income to pay them. Shouldn’t the estate pay these bills until the estate is settled? My two oldest siblings have also come in and taken all of mom‘s jewelry and art and her car so they have possession of all of the items of value from the house. This makes me nervous because I don’t know what they took or if they plan to keep it for themselves or not. Should they have left everything at the house and inventoried it so that all of the children, there are five of us, could have an idea of what is in the estate and so forth? My eldest sister is the executor of the estate and I have asked her for an inventory so that it is fair and she has so far refused to give me an inventory of the items she has removed from the house.
A: I'm sorry to hear about your mom's passing. If your mom prepared a Will, then the Will should be read to see what it says and if there are any directions that may answer your questions. The executor of the Will should secure the personal property so that it can be properly distributed or liquidated and split between the named beneficiaries. The executor will also want to eliminate expenses which may mean turning the property that you are living in back over to the owner. As a practical matter, you may need to take over the lease and utility expenses or find suitable housing. As a final note, you may have a claim against the estate for caregiver services and should speak with an attorney about that.
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