A will cannot be changed after the testator passes. And, in any event, powers of attorney automatically expire/terminate at death.

A bank account is not tangible personal property. Tangible personal property is things that you can touch, feel, pick up and move, such as furniture, artwork, clothing, tools, that sort of thing.

File a muniment of title with the will. Change title and eject the girlfriend. The will control over anything told to the girlfriend.

You are correct on both accounts. If your mom did not survive your dad by at least 120 hours, then she is deemed to have predeceased him. That would leave his children as the sole heirs of his estate (having died without a will). The insurance proceeds should be paid to you and your other... Read more »

More facts, including review of the will, are required to answer your question, but if what you say is true, this can probably be handled with an affidavit and a relatively simple court filing, both of which get recorded in the land records. A probate attorney can help you with this.

Yes, of course. You are a free agent. You can fire your existing attorney and hire another to pick up where the other left off. Just understand that you might end up paying more in the long run because the second attorney will have to take some time getting up to speed.

My condolences for your loss. The trust itself should define what State's laws it follows. The trustee should provide a copy of the trust to your Mom. Likely you will find the trust says it follows Illinois law.

You have not provided enough facts to determine where the trust administration is taking place. Most like it is in Illinois, but it could also be in Tennessee, or possibly somewhere else. We would need to see a copy of the trust and would need to understand who is administering the trust and... Read more »

I recommend her obtaining counsel of a Tennessee attorney first. He should be able to get a copy of the Trust Instrument, and after reading it, advise her. The Trust Corpus and/or Trustee may not be in Illinois or Tennessee. It could involve four or more jurisdictions. Hopefully litigation... Read more »

First, if the title to the house has not already been updated to your names, you need to take care of that. A probate attorney can help you with that.

Then you can hire a real estate litigation attorney to file a lawsuit to force a sale and divide the proceeds among you. This is not... Read more »

If you are his child, then you are an heir and next of kin. Has an Estate been Probated? Probate would probably be in your best interests here. You will need to hire an attorney to look into it and represent you. Otherwise forget about it, as time is of the essence.

Yes. You can claim an elective share against the estate and depending on the number of years you were married you can claim a percentage of the net estate.

Your Friend may not need a Will, as his assets should be examined first. A Will would have to be very carefully executed, which may not be possible. Hire a competent attorney to examine his situation.

Hopefully you also had a Qualified Domestic Relations Order in addition to your Divorce Decree. Without it there is probably little hope of ever receiving anything from a Retirement Plan. Annuities are a whole separate problem as you have to sue each administrator/trustee in whatever State... Read more »

What is your question? Pertinent facts involve: surviving spouse, children or deceased children; what kinds of properties and debts are involved; and did the Decedent have a Will? Without a Probated Will, the Heirs At Law own his real property, and the Next Of Kin own his personal property.... Read more »

Hopefully you have not filed Probate yet. In any event you need a competent attorney to handle this. You are correct that the Brother should not be an Executor, and the Court will not have a problem with that. The Estate should not be victimized by your Brother's tax situation, but it could... Read more »

Sometime you can get away with an Affidavit of Heirship. The affiant swears who the heirs and next of kin of the decedent were. Record it then send a copy to the card company with the recording information on its face. The next of kin are the owners of the funds. But if they do not send the... Read more »

There may be presumptive fraud if the Attorney In Fact deeded the principal's property to himself, or possibly his client. There are SOL's which you may have breached, and you may not have standing. Hire a competent attorney to examine the facts and title. You may or may not have a case.

If the owners do not wish to transfer the property to you, then no. It is their property subject to the Deed of Trust. If the Note is not paid, foreclosure will occur where you might make a bid. If taxes are not paid, then after a while the County will have a tax sale. This is not a tract... Read more »

You will need a duradle power of attorney for legal. You may also need a power of attorney for health care.