Estate Planning Questions & Legal Answers - Page 12

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455 legal questions have been posted about estate planning by real users. Ask your question and dive into the knowledge of attorneys who handle your issue regularly. Similar topics to explore also include trusts and estates, powers of attorney, and charitable giving. All topics and other states can be accessed in the dropdowns below.

Recent Legal Answers

Can the executor of an estate have all the land transferred into his name

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Please read the deed carefully. It may be in his name as administrator so that he can sell it and not in his name personally, defrauding his siblings.

Please read the deed carefully. It may be in his name as administrator so that he can sell it and not in his name personally, defrauding his... Read More

My father has passed but we have a lawsuit! That lawyer said we need a power of attorney?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

You do not say whether this was a lawsuit which was filed on behalf of your father before his death, in which case you should have done so under a Durable Power of Attorney; whether this is a wrongful death suit; or whether there is a dispute over his estate. Without this information, it is hard to answer your implied question.... Read More

You do not say whether this was a lawsuit which was filed on behalf of your father before his death, in which case you should have done so under a... Read More

Can I disinherit a minor adopted child in Arkansas that someone else has guardianship over ?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

You can exclude anyone you want from your Will.

You can exclude anyone you want from your Will.

It has been 2 years since my GM died and the trustee (her attorney) has still not settled the trust. no debts, tax filed, is this legal?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

You may want to request that accounting, if only as a prompt, and, if it is not timely provided, ask the court to replace the trustee. A Florida trust lawyer can advise you on whether Florida trust law or the language of this particular trust requires that final distributions be made by a certain date. ... Read More

You may want to request that accounting, if only as a prompt, and, if it is not timely provided, ask the court to replace the trustee. A Florida... Read More

Do I actually have unclaimed funds?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

This sounds like a scam. Your aunt should pressent a death certificate to the brokerage company to claim the Roth IRA. If she never does, they pass to her children, not to you.

This sounds like a scam. Your aunt should pressent a death certificate to the brokerage company to claim the Roth IRA. If she never does,... Read More

What happens if I was never notified that I was a beneficiary in a trust?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Without reviewing the trust document itself, no one can answer this question. In some states a trustee is required to provide an annual accounting to any beneficiary 25 or older. But damages must be shown before a beneficiary who was not notified is entitled to any compensation. "Strong arming" might fall within the category of undue influence but undue influence is extraordinarily difficult to prove. Without reviewing the trust document itself (which if it was available publicly appears to be a trust created by Will), it appears that you are likely entitled to nothing and would spend a great deal in legal fees trying to get it.... Read More

Without reviewing the trust document itself, no one can answer this question. In some states a trustee is required to provide an annual... Read More

Can they sue me? What can I do?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

If you had authority to close the business under the business's operating agreement, the success of any suit for damages based on your closing it depends on the language of the lease. If a suit is successful, the business, not you, should pay. If you did not have authority to close the business under the business's operating agreement, you should get it once the court admits your mother's estate to probate and appoints you administrator. Hire a probate lawyer who practices in the county in which your mother lived and died to apply to be appointed and advise you on whether and when any claim should be paid. ... Read More

If you had authority to close the business under the business's operating agreement, the success of any suit for damages based on your closing it... Read More

If probate is not needed, & all children have gone through home & gotten what they wanted, can executor tell me I can't go back in & get more?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Most Wills give the executor broad discretion.

Most Wills give the executor broad discretion.

My parents had a will & family crypt. My sister was named in the will,has legally changed her "full name" since,not married as a 40ish adult.She due$$

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

A change of name is not death. She still inherits. If you do not know where she is, hire a PI. You do not get to hold onto the funds if you cannot find her. You must pay them into the court registry so that she can, eventually, claim them.

A change of name is not death. She still inherits. If you do not know where she is, hire a PI. You do not get to hold onto the... Read More

My step brother was not named in my mothers will, he was named in my fathers before his passing. can he contest the will of my mother

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

If your mother's prior Will did not include an agreement not to change it (mirrored by the same agreement in your father's Will) and she did not sign a contract not to change her Will, she was free to make a new one and exclude whomever she wanted to exclude. Even if she had had no Will and her estate passed under the laws of inheritance, a stepchild does not inherit unless he was adopted.... Read More

If your mother's prior Will did not include an agreement not to change it (mirrored by the same agreement in your father's Will) and she did not sign... Read More

I have a notarized letter stating I receive my grandfather's ashes upon his death in the state of PA, he did this in 2013. Will this hold up?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

If the document is an Appointment for Disposition of Remains and has been properly executed, it should govern. Regardless, you may want to keep peace in the family by sharing the ashes with whoever is interested.

If the document is an Appointment for Disposition of Remains and has been properly executed, it should govern. Regardless, you may want to keep... Read More

Is an executor necessary when both people live in nursing home?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

If there is no land, house, vehicles, savings account, checking accoount or valued property, it appears the what the family is fighting over may be (1) disposing of the remains and (2) disposing of the personal effects. (1) In most states, if the deceased has not signed an Appointment for Disposition of Remains or similar document and the family has not acted, the executor may dispose of the remains. (2) In most states, if only personal effects (clothes, shoes, etc.) remain, the Will is not presented to a court for probate (proving).... Read More

If there is no land, house, vehicles, savings account, checking accoount or valued property, it appears the what the family is fighting over may be... Read More

My father lived in Florida and died in 2019. I got a copy of the Will in 2020 . I was not named a beneficiary it was probated and I was not informed

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Merely being diagnosed with dementia does not mean that someone does not have a lucid moment in which they can make a Will. As you know, dementia is progressive. After someone has died, it is difficult to determine whether they were, on a certain date, so advanced in their dementia that they no longer had legal capacity to make a Will. This is true even for someone under guardianship. Similarly, undue influence is difficult to prove. If you would like to contest the Will (which you should have done in 2019 if ever), please discuss the matter with a lawyer who practices fiduciary litigation in the county in which your father died. ... Read More

Merely being diagnosed with dementia does not mean that someone does not have a lucid moment in which they can make a Will. As you know,... Read More

Need to find the lawyer that might be in charge of my mothers estate

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

A Will has no legal effect until it is submitted for probate. When it is, it becomes a public document. Check with the probate court (Washington superior court) in the county in which your mother died. Note that the attorney representing your sister has no obligation to speak with you as parent of beneficiaries (if your children are so named under the Will): you are not her client. If no Will has been submitted for probate, hire a local probate lawyer to help you file an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration so that you can settle your mother's estate.... Read More

A Will has no legal effect until it is submitted for probate. When it is, it becomes a public document. Check with the probate court... Read More

What happens when there is a situation of a death of a sibling and there is no living will no named beneficiary and it is unknown where the mother is

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Yes. The parents are entitled to everything (less certain expenses). The court will require that you hire a PI to find her. If you do not, the funds, less certain expenses, must be deposited in the court registry and held for her to claim them.

Yes. The parents are entitled to everything (less certain expenses). The court will require that you hire a PI to find her. If you do... Read More

Would like a free consult in estate planning?

Answered 5 years and 3 months ago by attorney James S. Kaplan | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

I would talk to you. James S. Kaplan Jskaplanesq@gmail.com

I would talk to you. James S. Kaplan Jskaplanesq@gmail.com

Do I need a will or durable POA

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Powers of attorney lose all legal effect when the person granting them dies. Wills govern property after death but have no legal effect until a court admits them to probate (proving).

Powers of attorney lose all legal effect when the person granting them dies. Wills govern property after death but have no legal effect until a... Read More

What type of lawyer will fight for my inheritance and sue my brother for time spent living in the home?

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Lawyers who handle this sort of work are called fiduciary litigators. Relatively few probate lawyers handle fiduciary litigation. You may not find one in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Lawyers who handle this sort of work are called fiduciary litigators. Relatively few probate lawyers handle fiduciary litigation. You may... Read More

Property deed

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Please contact a local probate attorney to determine whether an Affidavit of Heirship, a Small Estate Affidavit or an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration would best fit your situation.

Please contact a local probate attorney to determine whether an Affidavit of Heirship, a Small Estate Affidavit or an Application for Determination... Read More

I have received the Release of Lien of Estate Tax. How do I now put my name on the Deed of the House my mom Willed to me.

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

If the home was willed to you and the court has appointed someone to administer the estate, ask the lawyer to prepare and record a Distribution Deed, sometimes called an Executor's Deed, from the estate to you.

If the home was willed to you and the court has appointed someone to administer the estate, ask the lawyer to prepare and record a Distribution Deed,... Read More

what is the average cost for Wills and Estate planning

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by Aaron Paul Cain (Unclaimed Profile) | 2 Answers | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

Dear Ms. Foster, Estate planning attorneys normally charge anywhere from $1,000 to $3,500, depending on what you'd like them to do. For instance, our office handles advance directives/living wills, guardianships, trusts, various powers of attorney, and conservatorships, just to name a few. It sounds like your mother needs a simple estate plan, but it would be best if she reaches out to an attorney who will make sure her affairs are in order. Reach out if there is anything else I can do for you. Warm regards, Paul Cain, Esq. a.paul.cain@riseuplegal.com 904-877-1010... Read More

Dear Ms. Foster, Estate planning attorneys normally charge anywhere from $1,000 to $3,500, depending on what you'd like them to do. For... Read More

If your biological child was adopted by their stepparent, do you list them as your child in your will if you don't plan on leaving them anything?

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

You would do well to name her and to note that you are leaving her nothing. Please also note that we are not yet at the stage at which internet wills necessarily do the job you intend them to do.

You would do well to name her and to note that you are leaving her nothing. Please also note that we are not yet at the stage at which internet... Read More

Estate checks

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

A Will probate or succession must be opened with the court and a bank account for the estate created pursuant to court order. The person whom the court appoints to administer that estate can then deposit all of the decedent's money in it, pay all bills out of it and distribute the rest according to the Will or, if there is no Will, according to the laws of succession.... Read More

A Will probate or succession must be opened with the court and a bank account for the estate created pursuant to court order. The person whom... Read More

Estate

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

From your description, it is not clear whether your parents' estates have been probated (proving what they owned, what they owed and distributing the rest according to their Wills or, if there is none, the state's laws of inheritance). If not, please see a local probate attorney about filing the Wills for probate or filing for an informal probate/small estate affidavit or a determination of heirship. Once you are appointed by the court, you will have authority over your parents' assets. This may include evicting your brother as well as his "tenants" and suing him on behalf of the estate.... Read More

From your description, it is not clear whether your parents' estates have been probated (proving what they owned, what they owed and distributing the... Read More

In Virginia does my brother have the right to remain in the home that was left to him and I at the time of the last parents death even though he lived

Answered 5 years and 4 months ago by attorney Terry Lynn Garrett | 1 Answer | Legal Topics: Estate Planning

In many states after two years with no distribution, you can apply to the court to remove your brother and appoint you. You can then file an eviction action in small claims/justice of the peace court and an action for damage to the estate (no rent) in probate/surrogate's court. However, unless your parents had a contract with you, the likelihood of your recovering funds for the amounts you spent on their care is nil. It will be deemed a gift.... Read More

In many states after two years with no distribution, you can apply to the court to remove your brother and appoint you. You can then file an... Read More

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