Utah Estate Planning Legal Questions

The executor is merely the person named in the Will and has basically no power except in an emergency situation. The court will appoint an administrator, who often is the executor, when then has power to fix the house in a reasonable fashion. None of the heirs nor the executor,have a right to live in the house until it is distributed to them. You need to force her to file the Will for probate and consider if you want her as administrator. You have to file for probate in order to be able to change title to e able to sell the property.... Read More

With a small estate, having a will and a power of attorney should be sufficient to manage your property.  Having a will does not avoid probate.  Probate is a process by which a judge validates the will as legitimate, the deceased's creditors are paid, and the net assets are distributed to the people named in the will.  If you want to avoid probate, then you must establish a  revocable trust and transfer your assets into the trust before you pass away.  The cost of establishing a revocable trust and properly funding the trust will generally be more expensive than having a will drafted.  I do not practice in Utah, so I'm not aware of the court fees charged in probate, however, many states have streamlined probate processes if a person has a properly drafted will.... Read More

If she did not leave a will disposing of the property, the husband from her second marriage is entitled to the $50,000 of the estate and one-half of the remaining estate. The statute does not go into how the persona property should be divided. I assume that if you were able to speak to her husband, you could request that your portion of the estate be the personal items that have been in your family for years, but there is no law or case law that requires it.... Read More

Generally I would think not - although for there to be a meeting of the minds on an Agreement to sell/purchase the property, if he is insisting and you are resisting, you may not end up with an Agreement - I don't think it is illegal for him to do so, but very questionable - it should not matter to him unless he has some interest (i.e. will receive some kickback) from the particular mortgage company he wants you to use.... Read More

Has a probate estate been opened? Have you missed your time for contesting the will? If the estate is open, and you have not missed your time to contest the will, you should hire a probate attorney to contest the will and assert that your will is the valid and proper will. The person making the will must be competent under the law. S/he must be able to know who his next of kin are, be able to make his wishes known about how his estate should be divided, and he must not be under an extreme influence. Sounds like you have a good shot at it, if you haven't missed your time. Good luck.... Read More

You are right to be worried. You should check the recorded title for the land and see whose name was on it. You should also ask if there was a Will. If you have an idea who your father's attorney was, you can contact him or her and ask if there was a Will. Move immediately, now. Time is against you.... Read More

There is not enough information to answer this question. The home may have been titled in the name of your father and his widow. If that is the case, upon the death of your father the property became his widow's. It will not be part of his estate. In that case since the house is hers, she can sell it. It could be homestead property. In that case his widow will have a life estate in the property with a remainder (after her death) to his children. In that case the widow can only sell the life estate which has little value as no one knows how long she will live. In that case the widow would not be able to sell the whole thing without the consent of the children. It could also be part of his estate without being homestead. In that case the property will pass according to the will whatever it says.... Read More

If there is a probate, she probably can sell the house and then divide the proceeds in the specified portions. Otherwise, she can't unless the house was tenancy by the entireties property (a form of joint ownership) with your father in which case she owns the entire property and can do what she wants with it regardless of what the will says.... Read More

If you are the "trustee" (trustor is the person who sets up the trust), you just need a "certification of successor trustee" under Utah Trust Code Section 1013, which can be prepared by an attorney. Once a revocable trust becomes irrevocable (at the death of the trustor), you will likely need a tax ID number.... Read More

Unfortunately, Wisconsin law does not recognize any legal inheritance rights for foster children. However, if she named you as a direct beneficiary on a life insurance policy or another asset with a beneficiary attached to it, then you would receive the share designated for you upon her death.... Read More