You should consider retaining an attorney to bring an action to enforce the trust and require an accounting from the trustee. It appears that the trustee is not acting in a proper fiduciary manner, nor complying with the terms of the Trust. You are entitled to an accounting for trust property... View More

An attorney cannot ethically advance costs. Therefore, the costs must be paid up front- usuallly by the personal representative. Intial Court costs are typically under $200.00. These costs can be reimbursed from Estate funds after the personal representative receives his or her letters of... View More

First and foremost, I am very sorry for your loss.

As for the house, even though your parents did not have wills, you can start a probate action to be appointed the personal representative of each of their estates. As personal representative, you will have authority to offer their home for... View More

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answered on Jan 3, 2023

An heir will be a tenant in common with the other heir owners. Each tenant in common has an undivided interest, and a right to possession. Eviction is not an option, but partition suit is. The land probably does not go through the Estate.

If there is only a car, or minimal property, you should be able to file a Small Estate Affidavit for estates with total assets under $40,000.00. If you have paid your father's funeral bill and the bill is roughly equal to the value of the car, you may be able to file a Creditor's... View More

The State of Missouri has a limited time in which they can recover payments made on behalf of a decedent through medicaid. If the State follows all the requirements within the proper time frame they can enforce their claim. The State of Missouri can open an Estate for the deceased, if necessary... View More

The answer to your question is in the reverse mortgage paperwork your mother signed. The statute of limitations, which is the statute you cite in your question, is a different issue altogether. That is just the time period in which a lawsuit may be filed. Under the circumstances, you should have a... View More

If you are a co-owner of the accounts with a JTWROS (Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorhsip) designation, then those accounts pass directly to you and no probate is required for those accounts.

I'm not entirely clear, without seeing the Judgment, but I tend to think that you are entitled to inherit. Unless you were actually adopted as the legal child of your aunt and uncle, you should still maintain your right to inherit. Often when a parent is unable to handle the... View More

You need to contact an attorney and open an Estate for your mother immediatately. As you mother's son, you are entitled to apply for Letters of Administration. The friend has zero rights and should not have access to the house much less giving a car "away" - how is the neighbor... View More

If the retirement account and certificate of deposit already have named beneficiar(ies), then it will not be necessary to file a probate proceeding as to those assets. Those assets would "by-pass" Probate - assuming the beneficiary has survived the decedent.

If your wife is an heir, she entitled to see all documents filed with the Court, including the Will (if there was one), and all Inventories of the property. When the Estate is ready for settlement, she is entitled to a copy of the Final Settlement or Statement of Account, which is a full... View More

In Missouri, an oral will is generally not valid. There is an exception but not in the circumstances you describe. Missouri requires a person's last will to be in writing and witnessed and notarized. I'm afraid your father's statements on facebook messenger will not be enforced by a... View More

Yes, his new wife is entitled to inherit, unless a will or estate planning devise provides otherwise, despite the short duration of their marriage. SInce you have children, the wife is entitled to one half the intestate estate and his children are entitled to inherit the other half. I assume that... View More

There are a lot of issues here. The first thing you need to do is to determine whether or not an estate has been opened in the Probate Court. I am assuming your grandfather was from the Columbia area, which would be Boone County. If there was a Will and it was validly excuted by your... View More

Missouri does not recognize Common Law marriage, unless the couple was living in another State where it was lawful. Beyond that, it sounds to me like they WERE married but had separated. If they WERE legally married, separated or not, at the time the decedent died, then the Wife is entitled to... View More

For a death certificate contact the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Vital Records, or funeral homes typically assist in obtaining death certificates. You can check Missouri Case.Net online court records to see if a probate case has been opened. If your sister... View More

I could be wrong, but it certainly sounds like the Vanguard account was set up to pay on death to the beneficiaries. This would explain why you subsequently received a large payout from Vanguard. It would also explain why a payment might have gone to a bank account and then was removed.... View More

This is a tricky issue as the Missouri Department of Social Services has extensiver powers as a "taxing authority" to avoid non-probate transfers where the decedent owed a State debt - typically when the decedent was receiving Medicaid benefits. Due to the sensitive nature, I would not... View More

Assuming you are within a year of your mother's death, you will need to open a probate estate. Once the estate is opened, the personal representative of the estate will have the right to retake possession and remove the brother.