Pennsylvania Estate Litigation Legal Questions

Did your parents bequeath the house to anyone via will?  Did ownership pass to anyone via the deed?  The only way to stop the sale is to reach an agreement with the taxing body (bodies) who are owed taxes and who are causing the propety to be sold.  As the to safety deposit box, is your daughter an adult?  if so, then she's the only one who can access it. ... Read More

There is no particular deadline.  The first status report concerning the admin of the estate must be filed a year after the estate is opened for probate.  Most estates can be settled w/in that 1 year time frame so most requests for commissions by the personal rep are also settled within that time.... Read More

Before the personal representative can distribute the assets of an estate, they must either obtain consent of the beneficiries or the court.  You should have been able to raise any objection that you had before distribution was made.  Did you have that opportunity?  I will also mention that the will governs the disposition of certain assets but not all.  It might be that the uneven distribution was proper because some of the assets distributed were not governed by the contents of the will. You should have an attorney review the details and give you a specific opinion.... Read More

The act of your cousin depositing the sale proceeds into a joint account could be a problem.  If the cousin was power of attorney for your aunt via a written POA document, you'd need to review that document to see what powers your aunt gave to your cousin.  She mght've given your cousin the right to do what she did.  However, your cousin would have had a fiduciary duty to act in your aunt's best interest.  That's a suspcious action taken by your cousin that bears some investigation. ... Read More

She doesn't have to agree to sign and I'm not aware of any legal process that you can employ to force her to comply.  Are the two of you living together or separated?  If separated, a divorce proceeding would give you the abiltiy to obtain a court order to move these matters forward. ... Read More

I'm sorry to hear of your father's tragic passing.  No, a text message could not serve as a valid will.  You should act quickly to petition to open an estate for your father before the girlfriend tries to take action.  If she is appointed, you'll have a more difficult time raising your concerns about the disposition of his estate. ... Read More

The renunciation will simply allow her to serve as personal representative of his estate.  The downsides are 1) control and 2) fees.   She will be entitled to compensation for serving as the personal rep.  She may not take a fee if that means taking money from her own child but that's a possibility.  Control and disclosure are issues too.  If she is the rep, she controls all of the information.  She doesn't necessarily have to share that info with you becasue you won't be a beneficiary of the estate and, as such, not entitled to information.  If you have any desire for info about the proper administration of the estate, you might either not sign or discuss an agreement for ongoing information sharing as a condition you signing the document.... Read More

Life insurance proceeds will be paid in accordance with the beneficiary designations set by the policy owner.  If your father was named as the beneficiary, then the proceeds, or whatever portion of the proceeds were designated to your father, will be paid to your father outside of the Estate.  If your rather and uncle were "co-beneficiaries", then its possible the share for your uncle could be paid to the Estate and distributed in accordance with your Aunt's will or, in the absence of a will, in accordance with the Pennsylvania laws of intestate succession.  The home can't prevent the policy payout. ... Read More

How much is the tax?  maybe she can work out a payment plan with the Department of Revenue.  Best thing to do is deal with it proactively.  The unpaid tax is a lien on the property and can impair her ability to use the property as collateral for a loan or to sell the house free and clear of liens. ... Read More

Has an estate been opened in probate for your father?  Is there a personal representative?  You won't be able to sell the property without your sister's cooperation since she owns 1/2 of the property in her own name (separate from any interest derived from your father's estate).  Short of that, you'll have to file a partition action to force the sale of the property.  yes, a property can be sold prior to the conclusion of the administration of an estate.  That's how it typically happens.  But you have a property here that's only owned 1/2 of the Estate. That's more complicated. ... Read More

I think the answer is that the person whose name is on the deed owns the real property and anything "fixed" to the property.  Tangible, moveable items, such as your mother's clothes, jewelry, appliances, etc. are likely assets of her estate and will pass by operation of her will or, in the absence of a will, the laws of intestate succession.  Please note that if the deed transfer occurred within one year of your mother's death and was for less than fair market value (such as a $1 gift), there may be inheritance tax payable on the value of the property.  You should speak with an attorney who handles probate and estate administration to get advice specific to your situation .  ... Read More

That's an interesting question.  Obviously I'd want to see the Will and know more about the decedent's "residential" property to best answer this question.  Not knowing any of that, if I were you, I'd take the broadest meaning of that phrase and request whever you want and see what happens.  In the event of a dispute, there are ways for you to get that dispute resolved. ... Read More

In the event of a death without a will, you can request to be appointed as the administrator of his estate.  There are certain person who have "priority" to serve as administrator.  they are all biological relations to the decedent.  If they renouce their priority in favor of you, you can be appointed.  You can also file a petition with the court to be appointed and those people will receive notice and opportunity to object.  If they do not, you can serve.  Whatever is statutorily left to your son via the laws of intestate succession will have to be paid to a court appointed guardian for his benefit until he reaches the age of majority.  This process is complicated and I would suggest that you retain counsel to assist you. ... Read More

Well there are a lot of reasons why the administration of an estate can take years.  Mostly it depends on the types of assets or liabilities in the estate.  I am currently representing an estate for a decedent who has open claims relating to asbestos exposure.  Those claims take a long time to pursue to conclusion.  I had another were the decedent owed significant IRS tax debt.  We had to work a long time to resolve the tax debt with the IRS and the estate could not be finalized until that was completed.  I'm sure you've been in contact with the estate attorney but you might try a new approach and ask for a specific, written plan to get the estate to final resolution.  If you can't get that from the attorney, you might consider consulting with someone else to get a fresh set of eyes on the situation. ... Read More

You can certainly send a letter -- it would be better than nothing.  However, if you want to give yourself the best chance to bring your concerns to the court's attention, you should retain an attorney to represent your interests.  Simply referring you to a form would not do much to advance your situation.... Read More

Usually a life estate reserves the use of the subject property for the life of the individual reserving the estate.  There may be other factors that can end the life estate.  You should have an attorney review the deed and the facts surrounding the situation to get specific advice.  ... Read More

I'm sorry for your family loss.  In almost every case when a person dies having personal property or real estate, an estate should be administered.  When an individual dies, it is often necessary to follow formal procedures in settling the estate. This process is called estate administration.  A personal representative (another name is an executor) is the individual charged with administration of an estate.  The estate administration must be filed with the Philadelphia Register of Wills.  Your mother's will may state who, in your sister's absence, will serve as executor.  If so, that person must be appointed by the Register.  If no person is identified, then you and your siblings have equal right to be appointed.  If you want to be the one, your siblings must "renounce" their rights to serve by signing a form to that effect.   Personal Representatives have serious obligations.  They must open the estate, notify all potential beneficiaries of the estate administration, collect and protect estate assets, pay the debts, expenses and taxes associated with the estate, file an inheritance tax return, follow state and local rules regarding the administration process and then distribute the assets to the beneficiaries according to the will or state law.  There are costs and expenses that must be paid to administer an estate as well.  It's a lot to do and most cannot do it without the assistance of an attorney.  My law firm handles estate administration in Philadelphia.  If you are interested in retaining my law firm for that assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.   ... Read More

Caring for an elderly relative is an honorable but challenging undertaking.  I wish you all the best in caring for your Aunt.  If she is in need of assistance with her finances and she wants you to help out, it would be a good idea to start by seeking out an attorney to prepare a power of attorney for her naming you as her agent.  If there's any doubt whatsoever of her capacity to understand what it means to give you her power of attorney, it would be best to visit with her physician and together determine if she has sufficient capacity to do so.  Then you can go about collecting data on her assets and expenses to get those in order.  If she's retained an attorney in the past to prepare a will for her, it is a good idea to seek that person out.  However the identity of that person is not listed in a pubic registry.  Hopefully your Aunt can tell you.  You should seek the advice of an attorney for more detailed assistance.  ... Read More

Over one-half of Americans do not have a Will.  It's self-evident that having a Will or some other form of organized estate planning is crucial to saving your loved ones headaches and expenses like the one you're going through with your family.  With the "paradigm" family of old giving way to a wide variety of family relationships today, its even more important to get your estate in order.  In your situation, I'm assuming that your parents' names were the only names on the deed.  If that is the case, when your father passed away, the property was owned solely by your mother.  Since she passed away without a Will the property would pass to her children (natural or adopted) only.  Step children would not inherit the property.  In order for the deed to be retitled or sold, it would be necessary to open a probate proceeding in the county where your mother resided at the time of her death and possibly in the county in which the property is located. That may not have been how Mom and Dad intended it but those are the unfortunate consequences of allowing your estate to pass via the laws of intestate succession.   ... Read More

How and to whom your fathers assets passed at his death can be dictated by our laws of intestate succession, the manner in which the assets were titled or beneficiary forms for the assets.  I'm guessing that some or all of these impacted your father's estate.  I'd need to know more about the details of your father's assets in order to give you full advice on this question.  I can give you some general information though. Yes, you can disclaim assets transferred to you by your father via most of the means of transfer I mentioned above.  A written disclaimer should be filed/transmitted within 6 months of his death generally.  If your desire is that your mother receives everything, then a disclaimer may help with that AND it will have the effect of reducing the inheritance tax because there is no tax payable on transferred between spouses.  It may be unnecessary to use the disclaimer to achieve your desired outcome.  Your mother can pay the tax from the assets she received.  It doesn't matter who pays the tax, so long as the tax is paid.  If she is refusing, that's another story entirely. You can also transfer the assets outright to your mother without tax consequences provided they do not exceed a certain dollar value.   ... Read More