Get free answers to your Estate Planning legal questions from lawyers in your area.
My partner and I have moved back to the Charlottesville area to provider assist with his grandmothers care. It is the hope of my partner and his family that his grandmother can qualify for Medicaid, once she has Medicaid, she can be moved into an assisted living facility paid for by Medicaid. The... View More
answered on Apr 4, 2022
You are asking a very complex question on a short answer forum and mis-understand some of Medicaid rules. Aunt may or may not be wrong - there are several ways this can be handled.
You need an Elder Law Attorney to advise you, and Charlottesville has several very good ones who are... View More
answered on Mar 21, 2022
It depends on what your dad wants. What does separately mean? I would recommend your dad reaches out to an estate planning lawyer and explain what he wants. Then, the lawyer can tell him what estate documents he needs.
About to expire. I’ve talked with previous tenants and the landlord has done the same to them and refused offers that was given to buy. What can I do to stay?
answered on Mar 13, 2022
It depends on the specific language in your lease agreement. If there's a provision that permits the owner to terminate the agreement for purposes of a sale, then you're in a more difficult position. I'm sure anyone who responds would be happy to hep if you'd ie to hire an attorney. Good luck.
She has dementia. I want my son to have the house instead of me. Would he be able to inherit it at the stepped up value?
I was hoping I could just change the title from my mother’s name to his.
answered on Mar 2, 2022
The phrasing of your question is a bit confusing. An estate does not usually have a trustee, the personal representative of an estate is either an executor or an administrator. It is possible for a pour over will to automatically transfer assets into an existing trust, such that the trustee of... View More
What do we do if it's not in her name and only her deceased husbands name? There is one credit card that she is a joint user for. We have gotten death certificates so far but nothing else.
answered on Feb 10, 2022
The wife is not liable for credit card debt she did not contract to pay by being on the card or using the card. She may be liable if the charges were for something the law calls necessaries, like medical care, food, clothing, and other needs of her spouse, but that is liability for the necessary... View More
Assets include property, bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds and vehicles. There is no debt whatsoever. After fathers death, my mother had all assets, except vehicles, changed to her name with a TOD to my 2 siblings and me. Property deeds were also changed to include a TOD. Question 1- when she... View More
answered on Jan 10, 2022
All great questions, and NOT suitable for a quick internet messaging site such as this. There are a lot of variables you haven't considered and not fully understanding them can cost you thousands.
Elder Law Attorneys handle this type of matter and can give you good advice. Most of... View More
My father in law passed in 2013. His home and belongings stayed empty for 2 years before my husband, our young children and me bought out his siblings for the home. Before us moving in, the siblings and husband, split up their fathers belongings. My husband passed away in 2020 and the deed to our... View More
answered on Dec 18, 2021
As I understand the facts, your father-in-law passed in 2013, and the personalty in the estate was divided among the heirs and the estate closed. Around 2015, you and your husband bought the house and its contents, and they belonged to him or both of you. Your husband passed in 2020, and now his... View More
answered on Dec 17, 2021
Generally speaking, a house that has a mortgage on it can still be transferred upon the owner's death. Most people use a will or a trust to do this, but it does matter which type of trust is used. For example, if someone attempts to leave their house to another person and retitle it into the... View More
My ‘well to do’ great-great aunt died in 2005 with a will naming her nephew as executor, he and his wife as beneficiaries, and my father as an heir. This nephew died intestate in 2003. His wife died in 2005, five months after my g-g aunt. 2 months prior to wife’s death she appointed a friend... View More
answered on Oct 22, 2021
Your description is too imprecise to render an opinion, but it sounds like you need a probate attorney licensed in Virginia to re-open the estate of Wife. I don't understand from your description what Father's rights are. You call him an heir, but you tell me that the sole beneficiaries... View More
My fiancée passed away and he had filed for divorce but he was told he had to send $66 more and then the papers would be mailed out but he passed before he could pay the $66 can i do anything to stop his wife from getting his Medicare set aside assistance because he didn't want her to have... View More
We never lived together again. 10 years after we separated he had a heart attack, suffered brain damage, and had to be put in a home for 10 year. He recently passed away. All he has left is about $330K in his IRA. While incapacitated his mother created a will leaving all money to his sons and... View More
answered on Oct 10, 2021
Property often transfers at death through nonprobate transfers, including survivorship on title, beneficiary designations on accounts, payable on death bank accounts (POD), and transfer on death investment accounts (TOD). Nevertheless, such transfers are still subject to legal requirements of... View More
My mother inherited two vacant lots when a friend passed away. They were sold recently in a tax sale. A lady from a Recovery company contacted me saying that they would get a third , I would get a third and my nephew's would get a third to split three ways from the tax sale. Now my mother... View More
answered on Oct 8, 2021
If a Virginia resident dies intestate, without a will, the state essentially writes a will for that person - the law of intestate succession. Virginia's law of intestate succession appears in Chapter 2 of Title 64.2 of the Code of Virginia, specifically Sections 200 and 201 describe the... View More
allowed to have home placed in her name without losing her benefits? They reside in Va. There is currently a reverse mortgage on the home,but my mother has a large life insurance policy to pay they lean off. My sister has lived with my mother her entire life and has no other assets. I live in Ky... View More
answered on Oct 3, 2021
Ownership of a home is not disqualifying, so that is not much of a concern. But if your sister is going to inherit anything else besides the home such as cash or life insurance proceeds or a car, etc., your mother would be doing your sister a huge favor by contacting an estate planning attorney to... View More
My father is born and raised in Danville, VA. He remarried to make his oldest daughter a legal citizen which wasn't completed. His baby mother has refused to allow us to have his body for our funeral & burial. They expect our entire family to drive 8 hours to visit my father, plus they are... View More
answered on Sep 21, 2021
Im sorry that you lost your father. Losing a parent at any age can be extremely difficult.
I dont think there is enough information in your question to give you an answer. My best guess from reading between the lines here is that your father died outside of Virginia in a state where he was... View More
Wills and Estates
answered on Sep 13, 2021
I have seen the terms use incorrectly before, so it is useful to have context, but the usual meaning go a primary beneficiary is the person, persons, or entities that are first in line to receive the proceeds upon the death of the grantor. A secondary or contingent beneficiary takes only if the... View More
answered on Aug 31, 2021
A witness may be asked about felony convictions and misdemeanors involving moral turpitude - lying, cheating and stealing. These types of crimes reflect on the credibility of the witness.
Just died in the middle of the sale of the home. My mother in laws will states that if any of her children that do not have children their part goes back to the other children. Can my sister in law will her part of inherited land that was willed to her husband from his mother to her sister or does... View More
answered on Aug 27, 2021
The exact timing matters and the exact wording of the will matters too. There is not enough information here to answer your question. You should schedule a consultation with a probate attorney.
Father passed a month after aunt did. So where does his portion go, his wife is still alive. And if it goes to 'him' does it go to my mother (his wife) or to my fathers estate?
answered on Aug 11, 2021
If a Virginia resident dies intestate - without a will, his or her assets, including the present right to an inheritance, are part of his or her estate and would pass, if at all, according to the law of intestate succession, as administered by the personal representative of the estate - an... View More
answered on Aug 1, 2021
The answers to the interrogatories asked, the documents subject to a document request, the admissions that the parties make in response to requests, the oral answers to depositions of parties and witnesses, and the documents and things that are sought to be examined. What those things are is... View More
There are 2 properties in Puerto Rico in his name of which one shows his ex-wife listed. He divorced many years ago and to my knowledge there was a separation of their properties done. Where can we gain the knowledge of whether or not the property is indeed his ex wife's as well? Also, what... View More
answered on Jul 27, 2021
It very much matters where your father was domiciled when he passed. You should consult counsel licensed in that state. If the only assets are Virginia real estate, you might avoid formal probate, but, in all likelihood, you'll need a probate in Virginia and an ancillary probate in Puerto... View More
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