Probate Legal Questions

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your wife.   You should consult an attorney who works with probate and estate planning matters. You may not need to do anything to take your wife's name off of your property, but no one can tell you whether or not you will need to without looking at the actual deed. If the deed was written one way, you and she owned it as joint tenants with rights of survivorship and it automatically became yours when she died. If the deed was written a different way, then your wife's interest in the property is now in her probate estate, and you have different options for how to proceed with the estate, but you will need to do something.   As for putting your daughter's name on your property, you should get good estate planning advice before doing any such thing. The general rule is that you should NEVER, never, never, never add a child's name to your home. Never. Never. It creates both gift and income tax issues, it exposes your home to your daughter's potential problems, and it may prevent you from being able to access needed benefits for your own long term care someday. That said, if, after a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney, you really still want to do it, you will need to get a deed drawn up. You should not try to do that yourself- doing a deed yourself is the easiest way to make sure that you can't sell or borrow against the property in the future because you've messed up the title.   Best wishes to you.  ... Read Answer

Your father placed great responsibility on your brother and entrusted him with a serious job.  The court will struggle to not appoint him after your father went to the trouble to nominate him as executor.  I have witnessed many good peopel waste thousands of dollars trying to stop an appointed executor from being appointed.  Unless your brother is in jail, or has been in jail for some kind of dishonesty issues, the court will likely appoint him.  You are better served hiring competent counsel to monitor your brother and at the first sign of anything improper file to have him removed.    ... Read Answer

Unfortunately, this kind of forum does not allow anyone to effectively answer a specific question like yours. You have posted a lot of information, but in a complex situation it's generally necessary for an attorney to probe to make sure that ALL of the potentially relevant facts are discovered before giving any legaly advice.   Here's an example of what I'm talking about: It sounds like your father's estate was never fully administered, since you say that his name is still on the deed to the property. One question, then is what DID get done with his estate, if anything. If he left property to stepchildren under his Will, but that Will was never admitted to probate, then it could actually be too late for that to happen now, since he died in 1987. If the Will was admitted to probate but the Executor never made the appropriate transfer out of the estate, then the stepkids may have actually received rights when the Will was admitted to probate, and thereby made legally effective, but it may still be necessary for the estate to be reopened in order for someone to property transfer the property. I can't tell from the information that you posted whether the Will was probated or not, and so I can't actually tell whether the stepchildren actually inherited anything.   If the stepchildren DID effectively receive rights to the property because your dad's Will was probated, then so did you and your brother Joel. If Joel had an interest in that parcel under the Will, then his interest would have passed either under his Will (if he had one, and if it was probated), or to your mother, as his only heir (based on the facts as you state them) if he had no Will at his death. BUT, if your father's Will was never actually offered for probate, then it may be that you and your mother and brother received ALL of his property and that it did not actually pass the way he wanted it to go.   What I would suggest is for your family to consult a real estate attorney to have the attorney help your family figure out how the properties in question are currently owned, and to help the family get any needed paperwork done to clean up the title. You likely also need to probate your mother's estate, so you should also have an attorney who can help with that- you may be able to find an attorney or firm that can handle both the probate issues and the real estate issues.   Best wishes to you, and please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother.... Read Answer

Determine if an estate has been opened in the County your mother resided at the time of her death.  If one has been opened you need to contest the distribution of estate assets, if probate has not been opened you could file yourself.  Both scenarios based on the contested issues realistically require an attorney.  ... Read Answer

A written will is the only method to bequeath assets to a beneficiary after death.  If the brother had power of attorney, as long as he acted in his brothers interests, he was free to take whatever action he deemed appropriate including selling assets.  If you are not mentioned in the will, you have no claim to any of the estate. Creditors are a different matter.  If he owed you money, you can file a claim in probate seeking a share of the estate in that manner.   I trust this answers your question, and if you are in the Delaware Valley, do not hesitate to call or email on a free initial basis.        Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read Answer

To a certain extent, it depends on what items you're talking about and what estate planning documents your father had in place.  If items were in a Trust for example, the terms of the Trust would govern what happens with those items.  Generally speaking however, household goods are part of a person's probate estate and nobody has the legal right to remove those items.  They must be inventoried and distributed in accordance with the order of the probate court.... Read Answer

If there is a joint tenancy deed in place when one of the joint tenants dies, the property automatically transfers to the surviving joint tenants. A survivng joint tenant should have access to the property and if that is denied by the other joint tenant without a basis there may have to be a lawsuit to gain access.  You may want to start with a search of the title with the Recorders office to determine exactly what the title is. ... Read Answer

Unfortunately the check if payable to the estate cannot be just cashed. Try and contact the insurance company to see if they will reissue itl. Another alternative may be an Small Estate Affidavit signed by whomever is entitled to the property. This affidavit can be used when the estate is under a certain dollar value. In Arizona right now that would be $75,000. You can find the form on line or any estate attorney should be able to assist you for a modest fee.... Read Answer

The simplest and easiest and lowest tax way to leave you his real estate, is to grant a deed to himself and you jointly with right of suvivorship. I highly recommend having a lawyer draft the deed for you. If the land is valuable and, especially if he has other children, it would also make sense to have him do will disposing of all of his property so there are no questions when he is no longer with us. There is no need to adopt. Just remember, estates can bring out the best and worst in people; having everything in place is always best.... Read Answer

I would suggest that you find a competent probate lawyer to assist you .  An affidavit of heirship is not that  difficult to prepare if you provide all of the information that a lawyer needs. Your question says you opted not to probate the will because you were paying for the property (big mistake). Then you complain about a lawyer who never finished the probate.  Which is it.... Read Answer

It depends!  Don't you just love that.  IF your dad had a will and left everything to his new wife, then her will, if any, controls.  Whether he left a will or not, both estates have to go through probate court to determine who gets what.  Your best bet is to hire a lawyer to represent your interests.... Read Answer

Your mother needs to hire an attorney. Unfortunately, there's really nothing I can tell you in this kind of forum that will give her any help. If your father was actually left an interest in the property, and if his interest was left to your mother at his death, then she likely has a right to a share of the sales proceeds. But that may not actually be what happened. There's no way to know what actually happened and whether your father actually received an interest that he was able to pass to your mother at his death without seeing the underlying documents. Your mother needs to consiult an attorney who is experienced in working with estates, including contested estates, as soon as possible. She shouldn't keep waiting. Best wishes to you and your mother.  ... Read Answer

Whoever told you they need a power of attorney, has no idea what they are talking about.  Powers of Attorney in Texas (and everywhere else for that matter) are revoked upon death.  So even if your son had given you his power of attorney, it would no longer be a valid document.  What you don't say in your question is what you are trying to do with his vehicle.  I don't know where you are located, but most probate and estate planning lawyers will spend some time with you on the phone for nominal charges or for free to get you pointed in the right direction.  ... Read Answer

The short answer is maybe.  In order to create or change a Will your grandmother needed "testamentary capacity."  This requires that when she signed the Will she: Understood the nature of the business in which she was engaged; Comprehended generally the nature and extent of the property which constituted hed estate; Held in her mind the names and identity of those who have natural claims on her bounty; and Appreciated her relation to the members of her family. Even if she had some mental difficulties, if she had a "lucid interval" and could satisfy the above criteria, then amendment to the Will would be legally valid.  That being said, if there were concerns about that, you can always challenge the Will.  Time may be of the essence as you only have 3 months from the date a Will is probated to challenge it. See Section 2107.76 of the Ohio Revised Code (link below) https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2107.76... Read Answer

Unfortunately, without being able to actually see the document that created the fund in question, it's not possible for anyone to be able to tell you whether the trustee has the right to withhold distributions. Too much depends on exactly how the fund is set up and what the controlling terms are. For example, if the money was really just a Georgia Uniform Gifts to Minors (or Uniform Trusts for Minors) custodial account that your son's grandfather set up with your son's father as the custodian, then your son's father may effectively have the right to control whether your son can receive or use the funds until your son turns 21. If the money was put into a Section 529 Plan account for your son's benefit, with his father as the owner of the account, then he may also have the right to determine whether a distribution comes out of the account no matter how old your son is. But, if the money was set up in a trust created by the grandfather during his lifetime or under his Will, then the terms of the Will or trust document may (or may not) give your son more rights to force his father, as Trustee, to make a distribution even if the father does not agree with his choice of school.   Your son can consult an attorney. The attorney can help him demand more information from his father about exactly how the fund is set up, figure out what rights he may have, and, if needed and possible, work to try to get the father to make the distribution or resign so that another trustee can step in. But in this kind of forum, it will not be possible for anyone to be able to tell him what his options are. (Please also note: if your son is 18, you likely can't sue the trustee for him- he will need to do it himself. However, you can certainly help him with finding and working with an attorney.)   Best wishes to you and your son.  ... Read Answer

Generally, The Executor cannot sell real property without first filing a petition to see nwith the Court.   There is an exception when the will gives the executor the power to seel without court order.  If there are no debts, you should be able to stop the sale.  John E Tantum   2523932235... Read Answer

Your situtaion is not entirely clear, but I strongly urge you to get counsel versed in disability law.  You might start with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, but your inquiry actually is in disability law, and will, trust, and probate, rather than in family law.  Do seek assistance, and find out the truth.... Read Answer