Probate Legal Questions

The first thing you should do is ask the bank what they will take.  You will probably need a lawyer because for you to get beyone the first line clerks who read from a manual is going to be impossible.  A probate lawyer could probably cut through the red tape and get a reasonable answer.  From a practical standpoint, since your mother was alive when your father died, the account (or its contents) would first pass to her estate and then from hers to you if you are the sole beneficiary.  Since you say you are both of their executors but can't find the will, a copy might work for your mother.  It is too late to try to probate a will for your father absent some very stringent circumstances.  A small estate affidavit and order might work but again unless you have a lawyer who knows what they are doing and who has all the facts, you are likely to mess this up.  A cut to the chase answer...HIRE A PROBATE LAWYER.... Read More

Yes that is a reasonable fee.  You might find some that are less and some that are more.  A great deal depends on the facts of the case that are not presented here.  For instance if you son did not have a will, $3000 is CHEAP  If he did have a will, $3000 plus out of pocket expenses are reasonable  ... Read More

You will need to contact a probate attorney in your area about this.  The devil is in the details and you rights vary depending on the exact circumstances.  Also, attorneys are not permitted to reach out to you.  You need to determine which attorney/attorneys you would like to contact and initiate communication from your end.   Best of luck.... Read More

Unfortunately, when your mother gave your sister and your sister's husband money with no contact and no interest in the home they purchased, she made a gift to them and did not retain any legal control. They can sell the house (or lose it in foreclosure) and she is out of luck. This is one reason why I tend to recommend to my clients that they not put their children's names on assets that they need for their own well-being, like a house: It puts the clients at risk of their children's problems. I am sorry for your mother's situation. Hopefully your sister and her husband will be able to live up to the moral obligation that they have incurred and will still be able to ensure that she has a place to live.... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. Whether or not the terms of the Will override the deed depends on what is said on the deed.  Multiple owners can own property in various ways. For example, a married couple can own property as a tenancy by the entirety, meaning that when one of them dies, the other inherits their share of the property without the need for an estate proceeding. The same could be true for owners as joint tenants with rights of survivorship: the survivor(s) would inherit the share of the property from the person who predeceased them. If a deed does not say or indicate joint tenancy, then the property could be presumed to be held as tenants in common wherein when one of the owners dies, their share passes through an estate proceeding and if there is a will through the terms of the will. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you.  ... Read More

You need to hire a lawyer.  If you had a lease with your deceased parents and if it was in writing, it might be binding upon the estate and therefore your sister who you say is named executrix would have to abide by it.  Assuming there was a court action appointing  your sister as executrix, the appropriate place to bring this action is in that court.  You can not do this without a lawyer.... Read More

In theory, the personal representative of the Ex's estate can make a claim to any property owned (or joinly owned property) by him on the date of his death.  However, it is possible that you could make the claim that he abandoned his interest in the properoty or otherwise work out an agreement with the personal representivie.  All this is assuming that the personal representative is aware that the propeorty exists and that the deceased has some ownership interest in the shed.... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. It sounds your father may have had a life estate in the property and now that he passed the owners/heirs have to determine what to do with the propery. So, it sounds like a complaint has been filed pursuant to Article 15 of the Real Property Action and Proceeding Law:  Action to Compel the Determination of a Claim to Real Property. And it sounds like you are referring to language in section 1515(d) regarding complaints and the necessary language to include in them. Generally, that section means that the complaint has to mention whether a judgment could affect an interest of a person not in being (ex: a person not born yet) or possibly another person that could be affected by the action other than the parties named in the complaint. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates with knowledge of Real Estate or a Real Estate Attorney with knowledge of Trusts & Estates could help you.... Read More

Typically it takes an attorney to probate a will.  There are a number of issues with heirs or potential heirs or non lawyers attempting to go through the probate process.  First when a will is submitted for probate, it creates a new entity, The Estate of Whoever..  Since you are not licensed to practice to law, your attempt to represent the Estate in a legal proceeding is against Bar rules.  Secondly, even if a court allowed, it, there are multiple steps in a probate proceeding and missing one or doing it wrong could be catastropic for the heirs of the estate ... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. Real Estate and personal property are two separate types of assets and can be distributed separately to various heirs or beneficiaries. Inheriting real estate either through probate or as a non-probate asset (such as a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship) does not necessarily mean the joint owner also gets the contents of the home that are deemed personal property. If a person has a Will, generally that person sets forth in the Will who gets the personal property of the estate. If there is no will, the intestacy laws apply wherein generally the assets are split among the nearest class of heirs. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you.... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. An interested party (an heir or beneficiary in a Will) could request (or demand) from the administrator, an account of the collection, and distribution of assets in the estate. A Voluntary Administrator has to file a report and account for the settlement of the estate pursuant to Article 13 of the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act.: “Account for all personal property of the decedent received and disbursed by him by filing with the clerk of the court a statement of all assets collected and of all payments and distributions made by him and receipts for or canceled checks evidencing such payments and distributions. No fee shall be charged for the filing of such account.” If the administrator does not respond or provide a justifiable reason why an account was not filed (yet), the interested party possibly could seek judicial intervention by filing court papers to demand the filing of an accounting statement. Separately, insurance proceeds generally do not pass through an estate proceeding unless the estate was listed as the beneficiary. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you.  ... Read More

You could take your brother to court to sue him for the reasonable value of the rent of the premises since he moved in.  That might promt him to move.  If that doesn't you could seek to partition the party so you could sell your share.  That also might prompt him to move on the verbal deal.  In Texas Verbal agreements relating to real estate are difficult and sometimes impossible to prove.  Call a local lawyer.... Read More

In order to change title to the house, a probate proceeding in the county in which your uncle was domiciled at the time of his death is necessary.  If there is no will, then an heirship proceeding will be necessary.  If you fall withing the Texas intestacy scheme of inheritance there is a chance you will inherit some part of the property.  Hire a lawyer.... Read More

Dying Intestate First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a sibling can be terribly emotional and taxing. That said, when a person who resides in Minnesota dies with a will (dying "testate") their assets are distributed in accordance with the terms of the will. Without a will in Minnesota - dying "intestate" - the State provides that the property be distributed in accordance with the intestacy statute, Minn. Stat. 524.2-102 & -103. Spousal Share (Minn. Stat. 524.2-102): Per the statute, if the decedent had a surviving spouse, they get the entire estate if (i) no decedent of the decedent survives the decedent, or (ii) all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent. If, however, if all of the surviving descendants of decedent are also descendants of the surviving spouse and (i) the survivng spouse has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the deceent, or (ii) if one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse, then the surviving spouse gets the first $225,000 plus one half of any balance of the estate. Non-Spousal Share (Minn. Stat. 524.2-103): Any part of the estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the individuals designated below who survive the decedent: 1. Decedent's descendants 2. Decedent's surviving parents equally 3. Descendants of decedent's parents (decedent's siblings) 4. Decedent's grandparents equally; if one or more is deceased, then to their descendants (grandparents and aunts/uncles) 5. To the next of kin in equal degree In Sum: Basically, the property goes to spouse, kids, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and then next of kin. If there are no takers, then the property passes to the State. This all, of course, relies on your brother having been a Minnesota resident when he died. If he was a resident of another state, then that state's intestacy statute will control. There are a few nuances to the above distribution. For example, an heir must survive the decedent for 120 hours in order to inherit. Also, for example, individuals in gestation at the time of death can inherit provided they live 120 hours or more after birth. But in general, the above distribution is what is required by the State.  ... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. When a person who owns property dies,  the person living in the property at that time does no automatically inherits the ownership of the home in most cases (there are times when someone can inherit by operation of law, but it is unlikely to be the case with a cousin.) It all depends on how the property is titled, what the Will declares, and intestacy laws if the Will is not admitted to probate. If there are two Wills, the executor of the most recent Will would petition to probate the most recent Will. Upon the issuance of citations to heirs and notice of probate to named beneficary, interested parties, which could include named beneficiaries in a previous Will, could file objections to the Will. If later, the court does not admit the Will to probate, an older Will could be offered for probate and the process would take place again. Although some property passes outside of the probate process (ex: jointly owned property with rights of survivorship; or having a named beneficiary), the most recent will would need to be admitted to probate to determine who inherits the property. So, basically, unless the property is titled jointly with rights of survivorship, the will need to be probated to determine who inherits the property because someone could object to the probate of the Will.  If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you... Read More

Perhaps a "demand letter" carries some legal force in another state, but in Massachusetts it may amount to no more than a scare tactic. Perhaps the demand letter was sent with the intention of trying to get you to make payments that you may not be responsible for making. There are extensive legal procedures that creditors must follow before the situation would ever get to the point where a sheriff could be involved. A lawsuit would have to be filed on a timely basis against your husband's estate (and perhaps against you, if the creditors are claiming that you bore some responsibility for or received some benefit from the debt). The estate would have the right to file an answer to the lawsuit, and the creditors would have to prove that they have a valid debt.... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. Although the courts are backed up, it is my understanding that they still will consider the issuance of temporary letters of administration (or preliminary letters if there is a WilL offered for probate0. When petitioning, the petitioner can make a written request for the issuance of the temporary letters. At its discretion, the court may accept a written request for such letters. Generally, a court would issue preliminary letters when there is a potential waste of assets. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you.... Read More

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. One way to determine if someone had a Will after they have died is to check with the Surrogate's Court to see if anyone filed a petition to probate the Will. If so, the Will would be filed with the Surrogate's Court. So, you can check with the court. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you.... Read More

The need for probate would exist if the real estate were in your mother's sole name at the time of her death. Whether probate is needed for real estate after someone's death is not based on how much it is worth. Perhap the best way to think of whether probate is needed is to ask this question:  If the real estate were being sold, who would be able to sign the deed, and what would give that person the right to sell the real estate that is in somebody else's name?... Read More

Generally speaking, creditors have 6 months from the date of death to present a claim against the estate to the appointed administrator.  See Section 2117.06 of the Ohio Revised Code (link below).  Depending on the details, you may want to sit down with an attorney to see if you have any options available. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2117.06 Best of luck.... Read More