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My sister is executor, my mom passed May 2020, and had a very simple estate. Still not closed out, and she will not respond to emails from me or the probate attorney. There are deposits in moms name she will not clarify where they are
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Oct 25, 2023
This issue, and your questions, should be addressed to your probate attorney.
In PA, every personal representative, whether executor named in a probated will or and administrator, both appointed, and entrusted, by the court, is required to file an Inventory of all estate assets. That... View More
![Michael Cherewka Michael Cherewka](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1360378-1600103092-sl.jpg)
answered on Oct 24, 2023
with life insurance policies if there are no named beneficiaries the policy proceeds will be payable to your father's Estate. If your father had a Will, then the Executor named in the Will can probate the Will, open an Estate and then collect the proceeds from the insurance company. If your... View More
My mother recently passed away. My father passed away in 2016. My mom had no will, no life insurance, or retirement savings. She had a mortgage, a car that was already paid for, and whatever money was left in her account from her monthly social security and wasn't already spent on the monthly... View More
![Stephen M. Asbel Stephen M. Asbel](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1495076-1551714778-sl.jpg)
answered on Oct 12, 2023
It is fairly simple to renounce your right to administer an estate in Pennsylvania. You fill out form Orphans Court Form RW-06 (you can download it) including filling in who is agreeing to administer the estate in your place. You have to sign the form in the presence of a notary. You give the... View More
My mother lived in Pennsylvania and recently passed. I live in Texas, and I am unable to go to Pennsylvania. Me and my fiance do not have the money to make the trip. We are also out of paid vacation time for the year, and it would create financial hardship for us.
Someone told me that I... View More
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Oct 10, 2023
Yes, you can disclaim your inheritance. There are time limits. Usually, a disclaimer is done for tax reasons.
You should have no need to attend any court hearings in PA if you are only a named beneficiary in the decedent's Last Will. However, if you are named as the Executor, an... View More
My sister and I are co-administrator’s of my father’s estate, and my parents had an old Safety Deposit Box at a bank, and after we went through the process to get access to the Box and to empty the box, the contents of the box was just old paperwork like vaccination records and stuff like that... View More
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Sep 23, 2023
File the form, showing the box contents, and put this issue to rest.
If you fail to do the report, there is always a question, an open possibility that someone may allege that something of great value was inside.
People can do strange things during the pendency of an Estate.
My father recently passed. His lawyer (now deceased) held the original signed will (unsigned copies were with my father and me). I reached out to the lawyer who inherited the files. He confirmed as the successor, pledged to check for the files, and communicate further. Regrettably, he failed to... View More
![Michael Cherewka Michael Cherewka](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1360378-1600103092-sl.jpg)
answered on Aug 24, 2023
It is unfortunate that this attorney has stopped communicating with you, especially if he has already confirmed that he is the successor to the prior attorney's practice and has his files. Since you have a copy of the Will, I would recommend that you hire your own attorney (assuming that you... View More
Haven't processed will due to copy issue and dad’s lawyer passing. Short form delay could cost tax savings.
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Aug 22, 2023
It appears, from your post, that your are both the sole heir and the named Executor in the Will. As a matter of practice, it is always best that the named Executor/Executrix have the original, or a duplicate original, of the Will, inasmuch as it is the named personal rep who is responsible for... View More
The owners have passed away, family members refuse to leave but have not paid bills, I had to pay in order to keep utilities on. The house has been left to me and I am also the executor of the will. I need to sell the property, in order to sell it they need to move out so I can clean and get... View More
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Aug 2, 2023
I see no impediment to the Estate's immediate right to possess the real property, and you are, as Executor, the voice of the Estate.
So yes, especially given that you are the heir to the home property, your request for eviction, for at least the given reasons, should be honored.
A beneficiary was named in a Pennsylvania will. The will went to probate in PA courts, but the beneficary died before the probate and any gifts were distributed. It had been over 1 year and 6 mts since Probate started. The executor is stating that the beneficary will not receive the gifts... View More
![Mark Scoblionko Mark Scoblionko](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1400284-1447149306-sl.jpg)
answered on Jul 22, 2023
The timing of probate would not be relevant unless there is something in the Will that would make it relevant. If the beneficiary was living at the time of death of the Testator and survived for any survival period required by the Will, the beneficiary would be entitled to the bequest. If the... View More
I start advertising it immediately or do I need to have the Judge approve the violitity of the will and start the probate.
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Jul 4, 2023
The Registrar of Wills in the county where the decedent passed will initially determine whether the Will is admissible for probate. Once accepted, yes, the named Executor/Ececutrix should arrange for the immediate publication of that fact, with the contact info of the named personal... View More
I am the executrix of my father's estate in PA but I live in VA. I was just informed by the title company handling the closing on his house that proceeds cannot be deposted into my personal account, only to an estate account. I am trying to find out if I have to open the estate account in PA... View More
![Anthony M. Avery Anthony M. Avery](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1504903-1494520006-sl.jpg)
answered on Jun 28, 2023
If you are probating your Father's Estate, then you will have an Estate Bank Account. If no account, then you are not doing your job. But the title co. does not control how you administer the Estate. You may wish to use an attorney or another title co. to execute the sale. At least... View More
He required round the clock nursing care so was in a nursing home. My sister had POA and we had to liquidate his assets to pay medical bills. One investment firm, Putnam, refused to recognize the POA while he lived, and even though our father passed in 2009, they still hold onto this one remaining... View More
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Jun 4, 2023
I agree with the prior answer by counsel, with a caveats.
When someone, e.g., a bank, a custodian of accounts, refuses to honor a POA, the time to resolve that issue is while the grantor under the POA is still alive. Powers of attorney, even the "durable" sort, expire at death of... View More
My dad was executor of my great Aunts estate. He passed away about a year after her. I was looking on unclaimed property for PA and came across something for my Aunt. I was my father's only child and he was never married so beings that I am the surviving heir, how would I go about claiming the... View More
![Mark Scoblionko Mark Scoblionko](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1400284-1447149306-sl.jpg)
answered on Jun 2, 2023
Someone, probably you, if you are your aunt’s sole heir, would have to be appointed as a “successor executor” of her estate. The correct title is actually “Administrator dbncta,” but it is just a successor. In that capacity the successor would file a claim for unclaimed property.
my brother filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy was dismissed in 2020 due to lack of payment and unfiled paperwork. It appears from the bankruptcy paperwork he did file that he did not mention the inheritance (possibly because he didn’t know what the final amount would be). It’s now... View More
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on May 15, 2023
As your brother's bankrkuptcy was dismissed, for cause, three years ago and no appeal from that dismissal is pending, you may proceed as if the bankruptcy was never filed (there's a specific Bankruptcy Code section that says that).
For that reason, I recommend that you proceed to... View More
Months and all the assets are paper. All taxes have been paid to government and state of penn. i live in Delaware father in penn.
![Michael Cherewka Michael Cherewka](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1360378-1600103092-sl.jpg)
answered on May 5, 2023
If the Trustee ( Execeutor?) is not sharing information with you, you may need to engage your own attorney for Beneficiary Representation to obtain the accounting and release of funds (if that is appropriate). Much may depend on whether your father had a Trust, and this is a Trust Admininstration,... View More
The decedent died and taxes were paid some time ago, but we are still waiting for the proceeds from the class action. I know it won’t be much at all. Even if it’s a couple dollars, would we have to reopen and amend the inheritance tax that has already been paid?
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Apr 19, 2023
Every asset to which the decedent/Estate is entitled, or outright owns, must be valued and included in the Estate for purposes of taxation and distribution.
An expected benefit from a class action suit, if the decedent was but one of a large class, will probably be disappointing. In my... View More
My mom died intestate with a mortgaged home the lender sold portfolio of mortgages and in paperwork it showed owners death certificate but didn't show any documents of the 3 heirs so now the new mortgage co. Is trustee and said they need our birth cert. And signed quit claim deeds from the 3... View More
![David Kennedy Bifulco David Kennedy Bifulco](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1558433-1685636710-sl.png)
answered on Apr 1, 2023
You should immediately seek counsel from a Trust and Estate attorney who is familiar with foreclosure actions. You should contact the heirs and open an Estate with the Sussex County Register of Wills or in the County of her residence when she passed away and have the heirs appoint an Adminstrator... View More
If a house is transfer from my father to my father and sibling as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, does a will giving the house to myself and my other siblings become void? Even if done at the same time or after the deed? Does she automatically get the house no matter what the will says... View More
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Mar 22, 2023
A Will, once admitted to probate, and surviving any challenges to validity, distributes assets, and pays debts, existing as of the date of death.
If, prior to death, the testator transfers property to others, then that transfer, assuming it is not invalid, diminishes what is owned at death.... View More
I'm the estate administrator
![Nina Whitehurst Nina Whitehurst](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1518593-1682021260-sl.jpeg)
answered on Feb 13, 2023
The answer depends on the reason you deposited those funds. If the reason was just to open the account or maintain a minimum balance to avoid fees, then yes. If it was for some other reason, then the answer is you should ask your probate attorney.
wife dies December 6. Leaves only asset condo to her daughter. husband dies February 5 without filing spousal election. Can his daughter make election?
![W. J. Winterstein Jr. W. J. Winterstein Jr.](http://justatic.com/profile-images/1410232-1447289145-sl.jpg)
answered on Feb 8, 2023
Depends of what the Will says. Most Executors do have that power.
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