Hey there!

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather's passing and the complications surrounding his car. It turns out, in Utah, verbal Wills aren't recognized - it's all about having everything in writing. Here is a link:... View More

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answered on Feb 25, 2024

If the attorney serving as the executor of your mother's will is acting in a manner that raises concerns, beneficiaries do have options. Generally, an executor can be removed by the court for valid reasons such as mismanagement of estate assets, failure to comply with the will's terms, or... View More

The entity that foreclosed on the home will have the money initially. If it's over $100k, they will normally refuse to give it to an heir without first your going to court and requesting to be named as the personal represenative.

If it has been long enough, the entity may have turned... View More

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answered on Nov 12, 2023

Based on the facts provided, it would likely not be legal for the non-executor sibling to place a lien on the inherited property to prevent the sale after contracts have been started. Here are some key considerations:

- If there are multiple heirs, the executors have authority to sell... View More

Great question. A Power of Attorney names someone as your Attorney-in-fact. This always ends at death or before. The Power of Attorney is never used after death.

Please note that the Personal Representative of the Estate technically needs to be approved by a judge in Probate Court to have... View More

You are right in your understanding that any power of attorney that has been given by the principal (the person who is giving the authority to an agent) expires upon their death. The reasoning for this, is that you cannot be an agent for a dead person. There is no way to see whether the agent is... View More

Great question. If probate is necessary, go with the state of the last residence of the Trustor that created the Trust.

Sometimes probate is not necessary. I recommend discussing your situation with a Utah attorney regarding the checks in Utah. Most attorneys will have a free initial... View More

Great question! Seeing red flags in a situation like this makes one wonder if your assets are safe.

If your case were in Utah, I could tell you that any time a person has questions or concerns about a trustee of a Trust, they can require that the Trust be overseen by a probate judge.... View More

This depends on the ownerhip of the account. If they owned the account as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, then the grandmother would only be able to access the account if she were claiming some spousal share of her husband, but she would first have to go through a court proceeding to get... View More

If your son wants to assert his authority as personal representative of his father's estate, then he can do so through a probate process. I have pasted the relevant code section below. In addition, if your son doesn't want to do it, he can nominate you serve as his father's... View More

Hello,

I am not sure about your question. What is it that you want to do? If you have an interest in trying to collect from your Dad' s estate, you would first need to see if a probate action was filed. I would look in the district where your Dad last resided. It would be an uphill... View More

When you have property left in the name of someone who has died, the only way to transfer that property is to do either a probate or get an Order Determining Heirs. If you have a Will, you normally do a probate. If you have no will, or if it has been over 3 years since death, you will need an Order... View More

Your best answer depends on a few things that an attorney would need to discuss with you. If you don't have a copy of the Trust, you need help proving your authority as the Trustee. If you are the creator of the Trust, you can always sign an updated version of the Trust. If you are an heir and... View More

Hi, dividend income would be considered income tax. The estate tax has to deal with the total amount of value passing from the decedent to others. So, it can be counted as both--income when received by the estate and an amount chipping away at the estate tax exemption credit. Most people are not... View More

Cash is considered tangible personal property. In your case, money held in the bank would either be deemed "cash" or "intangible" property.

I hope this helps.

If you are to receive his dog (which is deemed "property") then you are a beneficiary of the will. As such, you are entitled to see the Will unless the Will says otherwise (something like, no beneficiary is entitled to a copy of the will and will be subject to judicial review only).... View More

Hello,

That questions is difficult to answer. If your Dad died while working at the company, perhaps the stock will come restriction free. Usually restrictions are in place to prevent insider trading, so if there is no chance at insider trading anymore, they may lift them. Other... View More

The first thing you should try to do is to get a hold of the estate docs. The Will and/or Trust. These documents will speak to your right to demand an accounting or other information. If they don't then you will be looking to the Utah Probate code or Utah Trust code to see if you have rights... View More

You are legally considered someone's descendant if they were your birth parent or they adopted you. If you are not a descendant, you can only inherit if they leave behind something stating that you are the intended heir. If your sister is the only living descendant of your stepfather, and... View More

Obtain some sort of official demand from the life insurance company and give a copy to the sources of the documents you need. This may work.

Attorneys can normally obtain these items with a letter saying they need it for their client to obtain insurance.

If neither of these work,... View More