Get free answers to your Probate legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I have the testament with me I would like to keep the property the property is in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
answered on May 18, 2020
You need to contact a lawyer in Puerto Rico to see if you have any rights to the property.
Decided to delete the details
answered on May 17, 2020
I am sorry to hear about your situation. Yur first step should be to speak to an attorney about all of your rights and options. You really do not want to have your personal information discussed in a public forum.
Can this be contested? Would it go through probate?
answered on May 6, 2020
The short answer is that you need to have a consultation with an estate law specialist.... not a general practitioner who does some estate work. Here though is the question that he is going to ask since your dad is still alive. I presume that the house is in joint name between your mom and your dad... View More 
i hired a lawyer six months ago but they are not getting any answers from their lawyers. Should I hire another lawyer ?
answered on May 6, 2020
I am sorry to hear about your situation. It would not hurt to talk to another lawyer about your situation. With COvid-19 many things related to the government have been put on Hold, so even hiring another attorney may not help at this time, but going over your situation with another attorney may... View More
Executor of estate or estate? There is also no next of kin to establish an executor.
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answered on May 5, 2020
The executor does not HAVE to be "next of kin". Anyone with an interest in the case can petition the court to be appointed executor, and then the executor can receive the life insurance proceeds and use the funds to pay expenses of administering the estate.
I can’t afford the mortgage by myself. I have a sibling that lives There and pays nothing. Now that my mom is gone refuses to pay anything.
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answered on Apr 29, 2020
I am sorry to learn of your Mom's passing. I know exactly what you went through. What you are going to need to do to solve this problem is to bring a partition action to enable a sale of the property. If your mom past without a will then you will need a Probate attorney in addition to a civil... View More
I’m POA/POD. Her home is paid for. Mom has 4 bum kids over 55. My mom didn’t want her bum kids getting any of the money from the sell of her home she wanted it to go in trust. The other siblings will offer no resistance to the sell of the home.
answered on Apr 28, 2020
You need to go through the Probate process. You will need her death certificate. You should also get the other kids to sign off on you being the personal representative for the estate. Since there isn't a will you would have to get a bond to serve as the personal representative.
If... View More
Mom had been living in an assisted living facility which exhausted all of her cash assets. Her checking account, of which she and I were co-owners, has a present balance of $50. She had no other assets. She sold her home years ago and was living with me before she went into the assisted living... View More
answered on Apr 28, 2020
I am sorry for your loss. The $50 automatically passes to you as the joint owner of the account. It does not sound like you have any reason to probate the will since there are no other assets.
Part of her estate, but he doesn’t have a bank account. I’m uncomfortable sending him a substantial check. Do I have any legal recourse? Can I stipulate that the funds will be dispersed through direct deposit only? Thank you.
answered on Apr 27, 2020
If you are uncomfortable sending him a check for a substantial amount, you can mail it USPS Certified Mail, return receipt, so he has to sign for it.
It's a total of $300k
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answered on Apr 19, 2020
Yes your child can gift the money back to you. It would be a taxable gift but the odds are no gift tax will be owing due to a lifetime gift tax exemption in excess of $11 million per person at this time.
And give it to me. I am the executor. What do I need to do. Want to avoid probate
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answered on Apr 19, 2020
You need to schedule a personal consultation with a probate attorney and provide more facts. Disclaimer might not achieve the result you want because it results in your children being deemed to have predeceased your mom with the result that the funds would go to persons other than you, depending on... View More
Our mother left her will to her grandchildren. They want to disclaim their inheritance. Can they disclaim it to their parents ? If yes can they put a money value of what they will accept and disclaim the rest ? Will it automatically pass to their heirs or can they name who it will pass to? Some... View More
answered on Apr 17, 2020
You should have an attorney review the will. The questions you are asking can have different answers based on what is exactly in the will. The ages of the children will also need to be factored.
My uncle withdrew his entire fee and now the estate account is empty with property taxes, home insurance and utilities overdue and is looking into selling the house. Is my uncle or myself(beneficiary living in the home) responsible for the bills? Also, is there estate tax and inheritance tax due in... View More
answered on Mar 27, 2020
The fee should not be taken until the estate is settled. The house sounds like it is going to need to be sold to make the estate whole. The estate tax is based on who takes what and the relationship to the deceased. You are better off talking to a probate attorney to get direct answers to your... View More
His son has recently contacted me and says that his bank account that he had with his wife is frozen. He said that his lawyer that is handling this process needs my original birth certificate sent in the mail to P.R. But he’s not providing much detail at all. So far I know there’s no will but... View More
answered on Mar 8, 2020
this sounds like a scam. don't send any original documents, there is no reason they would need this.
He passed in Puerto Rico and I live in New Jersey and his son has recently contacted me asking me to send him my original birth certificate but no other information. He hasn’t told me if there is a will or not. What should I do?
answered on Mar 8, 2020
You should probably hire a lawyer in Puerto Rico where he died. As it appears that he live there as that's where the will would have been written most likely.
Children. They were not named on life insurance.
His sister is getting the entire payout. Is there a way to dispute this and have it put in a trust for the 4 children?
answered on Feb 29, 2020
In general, unless a court order exists that me must maintain this insurance policy for the kids he can name anyone he wants on the insurance policy.
The will was contested and a judgment was rendered to be executed as soon as possible, but to date there has been no finalization of the will. It's been well over a year, so how do we get the judge's decision fully executed and by who? The estate lawyer is dead. The executor of the will... View More
answered on Feb 29, 2020
The simple answer is to hire another attorney to take over the matter
NJ intestate laws support spouse keeping whole estate but will in NY specifies 1/3 of his portion to surviving spouse and 2 adult children as heirs of his estate. I live in NY and estranged mother in NJ. She wants me to authorize will administrators to send her entire amount so she doesn't... View More
answered on Feb 16, 2020
You need to speak with a probate attorney. Depending on how much money there is in the estate there may be money you are entitled to under the will. How ever without knowing your father's debts, and total assets there is no knowing if you would be able to collect anything if your mother... View More
husband did not live will but left a lot of shares of stock. Need help trying to liquidate it.
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answered on Feb 9, 2020
You need an attorney who is a Probate attorney. The right documents are obtained by an attorney and the stock is liquidated by a stock broker. That is all you require. A fair amount of work may be required depending on what you have already done with the Surrogate.
A woman is one of five children. She lived with her elderly mother and stepfather for the last 10 years. Her stepfather dies. The house and all assets go to his wife. Then his wife dies. The woman who has lived in the house for the last ten years has paid bills, remodeled and paid taxes on her... View More
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answered on Jan 15, 2020
When a person dies without a will, the property the decedent owned is distributed through a process called probate to the decedent's heirs according to the states laws of intestate succession. If the decedent had surviving children but no surviving spouse, which sounds like the case here, the... View More
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