Prior to their deaths, my youngest sister (among 5) took over handling all of their finances, at the request of my Mother, and became their power of attorney ("POA"), which I'm not sure was ever made official.
Following my Mother's most recent death, my sister ~ the... Read more »
It sounds like a probate was opened by your sister. Probate is a kind of court case and the records are public. You can go to the courthouse nearest where your mother died and ask to look at the file. You will probably find answers in the file. If you do not understand what you are seeing, you... Read more »
They have offered to pay for my college which I'm really thankful for, but reading through the document it seems like I'm essentially hand them full control over everything I own and will ever own. They say it's only to be used in case I get incapacitate but I don't see where it... Read more »
… because of the nature of today’s world, coupled with the Privacy Rules, your parents would not be able to help you at all without a Power of Attorney being signed …
… yes - it is a very powerful document - but they are your parents …
… I think you know what to do …
John
Do I have to probate the will, and how do I transfer the deed to myself? Thank You, Anne Marie Ball
You need to contact a lawyer to help you. In short, the Will needs to be probated and an estate opened. You, as Executrix, would then execute a deed, unless the property is already in the Trust. As indicated, you need to meet with a lawyer to review everything.
My mother passed away last year, and we didn’t have any issues with inheritance, except for a 1099 showing dividends from an employee stock plan. The account is very small, so it would be more expensive to probate it then it’s actually worth. We’d like to simply ignore it, but we know we’ll... Read more »
No but before you decide not to did you look under unclaimed money on the Treasurer's website? Look under both her married and maiden names.
https://www.patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property/
Also if she had a car you want to pass title to, a house you would need to open a simple... Read more »
Is an inherited IRA protected from a divorce? If distributions from an inherited IRA are made into an account solely in the name of the IRA recipient, are those distributions protected from divorce? Can those distributions be made directly to the recipient's living trust that has a co-trustee... Read more »
Drafted correctly, a trust or trusts as beneficiary(ies) would not have any different tax consequences than naming individual beneficiaries. Look for an attorney in your area that understands how to draft a "see-through" retirement plan trust.
Since I have no family and on a limited income; I want to make my best friend my beneficiary & once everything is liquidated; she will delegate certain amounts to charities & people that I want to leave a little something to. Also, can I have a backup beneficiary since we're always... Read more »
You are on the right path, and the things you are wanting to do are do-able. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you see this through. Most likely you are going to want to create a revocable trust with a will just in case. I would also recommend a general durable power of attorney... Read more »
then ignore said beneficiary requests for an explanation?
The powers of any Trustee are prescribed first by the wording of the Trust document itself, augmented by the powers specified in the PA statutes.
To answer your question correctly, a lawyer would need to examine the wording of Trust document.
Are there any rules governing what a Trustee must do to ensure they know what IS & IS NOT in the beneficiaries best interest and act accordingly?
Entire books have been written on this subject, and this has been the subject of numerous lawsuits across the country. There is no simple one-size-fits-all answer, I am sorry to say. If you have a particular action in mind and would like legal advice regarding that, you should consult with an... Read more »
How can I sell the house I was forced to leave in Dallas, Texas and /or get my x, who is still living in the house, to sign a rental contract so I am not forced to pay the mortgage for the house? He claims there is already a tenant / landlord contract signed. I don't remember signing one.... Read more »
Although you need to speak with a Texas lawyer, as a general proposition, if you are the sole person on the deed, you have the right to sell it. However, if there is, in fact, a written lease, any sale would have to honor the terms of that lease. Therefore, as a practical matter, you better find... Read more »
Left everything to her daughter in will. Do I have anything to fight for if the house was still in both step mom and my fathers name on deed?
If the deed was held in your father and step-mom's names as joint tenants, with right of survivorship, or tenancy by entirety, then when he died, yes, "everything", including full legal title to the property, went to her.
If the deed says they held title as tenants in common,... Read more »
From the point of view of your Will, you can leave your Estate to anyone you choose, and in this case you would just no longer reference your primary beneficiary as "my wife".
From a Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax point of view, this is a major change since the tax rate for bequests... Read more »
My sister-in-law is executor of mother's will. She has not paid inheritance taxes since mother’s death in 02/2017. She will not even have conversation about will. I have been told that my wife, who is sister and co beneficiary in mother’s will, should get a lawyer to help with this issue.... Read more »
First of all are you sure there is a Will? If your sister-in-law claims there is a Will, and that she is named Executor, and if she has done nothing to date your wife has some options, and she needs to meet with an experienced estate attorney to see what option is best. If you think there is a... Read more »
The estate is located in Florida
A bond is an undertaking by a surety to indemnify the estate for losses caused by the bonded person (personal representative) stealing from the estate. Sadly, that does sometimes happen. If you totally trust the personal representative then you would normally agree to waive the bond. If you don’t... Read more »
My dad passed Nov 2020 and the bulk of the estate goes to my dad's 2nd wife. I'm listed to receive the vacation home. I haven't read nor have received a copy of my Dad's will, the lawyer just read only the portion pertaining to me. Step mom is executor and hasn't offered a... Read more »
As far as a copy of the Will, the executor is required to send you a notice that you are a beneficiary of the Will, and describe your bequest. Most executors provide a copy of the Will, but unfortunately that is not required and your executor has chosen not to send a copy. Her attorney is correct... Read more »
My understanding of Will is I own 1/3 . Will siblings need my signature to sell house ?
The simple answer is- yes. Your siblings cannot sell/transfer your interest in the real estate if you are a record owner of it. However, if the property is held in a pending probate case, the executor/administrator may have a power to sell the property, subject to notice to all heirs at law and... Read more »
He was living with his girlfriend at her house at the time of his passing. He has a fairly large gun collection of about sixty or so firearms including some handguns. My brother is the named executor of the estate that he had to file to open. My father's girlfriend is refusing allowing us in... Read more »
First of all since your brother is named Executor he has the responsibility and the authority to collect and protect all personal property of your father. Since you call your brother the Executor I am assuming there is a Will and the girlfriend is either not named in the Will or was not bequeathed... Read more »
Investment worth around a hundred thousand or so. At the reading of the will the sister who was P.O.A and also executor of his will jumped up and said "I am the beneficiary of that" the lawyer tried to explain that Pap wanted the money split 3 ways but she kept saying, I am the... Read more »
... hello ...
... yes she can ... although your father may have wanted it split, a beneficiary designation overrides the Will ...
... good luck ...
... John ...
In Pennsylvania the estate attorney's fee is negotiated with the executor of the estate. There are court cases with guidelines as to calculation of the fees. I have never heard the fees being calculated as a percentage of the inheritance taxes paid by the estate.
My mother-in-law died Feb. 2017. Sister-in-law took will to courthouse Feb. 2018. Will was drawn up in Ohio, and does not meet PA standards, she needs notarized statements to authenticate mother’s signature. After 3 year she has done nothing. Court has no records that inheritance taxes have... Read more »
if your sister-in-law "took the Will to the courthouse" I will assume that your sister-in-law is the named executor. if that is the case neither you nor you wife can do anything other than (i) demand that she hire an estate attorney and finish the estate administration (including payment... Read more »
My father in law died in Oct. He owned a home had a life insurance policy and a union pension. He had no will in PA. We are having trouble getting information about the policy, deed for the home, actually ever thing we try is an issue we only have a death certificate. Need probate I believe but not... Read more »
Where there is no will, the PA statutes explain, in detail, who will be the "heirs at law" who inherit a decedent's property.
Whenever real estate is involved, unless it is held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and the co-owner survives, a probate is necessary to... Read more »
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
