Probate Legal Questions

In Florida, the tag agency may transfer the car without a Probate Order. In many cases with the death certificate and a transfer form. Since there is no will, they should go by the California intestate rules. I am sure, you want to avoid the Probate (inheritance court) expense. I am a Florida attorney and not a California attorney, but I would try to transfer the title first with the tag agency/ DMV.    ... Read More

A spouse, whether married for a day or over 20 years, is entitled to an elective share of the deceased spouse’s estate. This right applies even if the will disinherits the surviving spouse. The elective share means that the surviving spouse can either accept what is provided for them in the deceased spouse’s will or, if the will either grants them property or excludes them entirely, they are entitled to automatically receive at least 30–35% of the deceased spouse’s estate. The only exception is if a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement explicitly excludes the spouse from claiming an elective share, and the spouse has legally executed the agreement.     ... Read More

Your post is not completely clear but sounds as if you are looking for help to challenge the validity of a Will or theway the estate is being didtributed to Beneficiaries.  Let me begin by stating that I do not represent Beneficiaries or Heirs on a contingency basis, only hourly.  I am not aware that a contingency fee would be prohibited so it is possible there are attorneys who do so.  I suggest using the Find a Lawyer section of this website or the Daupjin County Bar Association referral service to find a Probate lawyer.  You will then hear from attorneys like me who practice in this area of law who can advise what to do and how fees are structured.... Read More

A Michigan small estate affidavit is a document that allows a petitioner, known as an "affiant," to stake a claim on property from the estate of a deceased loved one, known as the "decedent." In Michigan, this process is available to estates valued at $51,000 or less. If you're the only living relative, then you can take advantage of this process so that the car can be transferred from your brother's name and into your name. You should seek out an attorney in your jurisdiction for more specific advice.... Read More

If the decedent was domiciled in Louisiana, the proper venue to open his succession would be the state judicial district court in the parish in which he was domiciled on the date of his death. You can find maps of all the Louisiana state judicial districts here: https://www.lasc.org/About/MapsofJudicialDistricts. If you're still in doubt about where the district court is located, you should probably call the general phone number for the Clerk of the Louisiana Supreme Court and ask them for general information. They are not allowed to give you legal advice. Here is the contact information: Clerk of Court:Hon. Veronica O. Koclanes400 Royal StreetNew Orleans, LA 70130P: (504) 310-2300TTY: (504) 310-2546Clerk's Office Email: COCVM@LASC.ORG The easiest way to find out whether the succession has been opened would probably be to go down to the parish courthouse and visit the office of the Clerk of Court. Employees of the clerks' offices are usually very helpful and would probably look up the name for you. If this succession has been opened in that parish, you will be able to actually read all of the documents that have been filed in the case. Remember the saying, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." If property rights are involved (and ALL successions involve property rights), you should consult with a Louisiana attorney so that you don't do something that will adversely affect your rights.    ... Read More

You cannot do anything until you find her.   Then you have to file a lawsuit for breach of contract, serve her, and perhaps reopen the probate proceeding.  If there were no will, then, apart from the house, she would only get 50%.   If you do all of the above, then you may still have to spend a great deal of money and effort to enforce any judgment that you get.  ... Read More

I'm sorry for your loss. Many lawyers who include probate in their practices would give you a free initial consultation.  More information is needed to help, Oklahoma hasn't adopted forms for Probate practice as situations can vary so much. Depending on how they were held or titled, sometimes houses and cars can pass without probate.  There are also some estates that qualify for a more simple procedure, I recommend that you call some lawyers.... Read More

An attorney would need to review the documents that were prepared.  If your mother left her half of the house to you and your siblings, you own 1/2 of the house.  Did your step-mother have a will?  Again, an attorney needs to review the documents to see what was actually done.... Read More

You need to open your father's estate for probate (if he had a Will) or administration (if he did not have a Will). Your statement that there was no need to probate after his death is apparently incorrect, as there was a Fidelity account that he owned and that had no beneficiary designation on it. That account became part of his probate estate at his death, and without a probate or an estate administration that account stayed in his estate. If you are the sole heir, and if there were no creditors at his death (or if all of any such creditors have been fully paid before now), and if he had no Will, then you might also be able to do a Petition for No Administration Necessary, instead of a full administration. But you may not be able to get the needed information for that Petition without an estate representative who is able to get that information from the Georgia Treasury Department. Hire an experienced probate attorney to help you with this. Best wishes to you.  ... Read More

It is best to go over the assets of your estate, including the insurance policy, with an attorney to plan how to get the property correctly titled in your name.  With real estate (real property) and other assets like insurance (personal property), there can be different ways to get the asset properly titled. Each asset and case is unique and dependent on the facts. ... Read More

The answer to your question depends on whether or not an executor or administrator has been appointed by the court. You state that your mother-in-law left a will. In the will, she probably appointed an executor or co-executors.  She may also have given the executor the authority to act independently, without prior court approval of many of his actions. If the heir who changed the locks is an independent executor, then it is likely that he is acting within his authority and that his action is legal. Even if your mother-in-law did not name an executor, the other heir may have had himself appointed administrator of the succession and gotten authorization from the court to secure the property by changing the locks. You stated that there is an attorney settling the estate. The very first thing you should do is contact the attorney and speak to him for more information. If you're unhappy with what he tells you, then your only realistic alternative will probably be to retain an attorney of your own, at your own expense, and bring the matter to the attention of the judge who is handling the case.  ... Read More

Hello.  An attorney will have to review your documents, but it sounds like you do not have to  quickly leave the house if you dont want to.  It does depend on how title is held with the grandson and what the terms of the trust are.  Did she leave her half of the house to you as a beneficairy of a trust or are you a surviving joint tenant?   The answer to that question will dictate your next move.... Read More

Have you physically met this person? There are alot of financial money scams on the internet targeting vulnerable elderly people from overseas. Speak with an attorney before sending any money. Is this the first time you are giving money to him? Based on your summary, this looks like it could be a scam. ... Read More

If the property has been purchased at a properly noticed and conducted tax sale, the three-year redemption window cannot be extended under current law. That doesn't mean the tax sale purchaser won't allow you to redeem after the deadline (although he may very well not). It means that the purchaser can bring a lawsuit to quiet title and ultimately obtain possession of the property interest he bought at the sale. You need to take immediate steps to protect your rights.  ... Read More

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your father. If your mother survived your father, it's her house now, if you're correct in that the two of them owned the property as joint tenants with rights of survivorship before your father's death. However, since you are asking this question, I will assume your mother died before your father, leaving your father (presumably) as the sole owner of the home and making the home now part of his probate estate. Someone needs to get appointed as the Executor or Administrator of the estate (depending on whether or not your father had a Will). The Executor or Administrator can then take steps to evict the girlfriend. That's how you get her out of the house. However, note that this assumes your father did not add the girlfriend to the title to the home before his death, and it also assumes that your father did not make a Will or a revocable trust that provides for her to receive the house (or the right to live in the house). And, if he did make a trust and transferred the house to it during his lifetime, then the Executor/Administrator of his estate may have no control over the house- the Trustee of the trust would be the one who has that control. So the real first step is to try to make sure that you know exactly how the house was owed as of the date of your father's death, along with any other assets he owned, and whether he had any estate planning documents in place and if so, what those documents say. My recommended next step would be to hire an experienced probate attorney to help you figure out the actual situation and what the next steps can and should be. Best wishes to you.      ... Read More

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother. As for your question, the Petition to Probate Will in Solemn Form is generally the petition that should be filed when a Will is offered for probate. It becomes binding more quickly on heirs or other interested parties, which is good for a number of reasons, and most probate courts prefer that you use it. I do urge you to get an experienced probate attorney to help you with the Petition and with other aspects of probate, however. While you can handle probate without an attorney in Georgia, that doesn't mean it's a good idea. There are a number of traps that you can fall into and issues you might encounter that could have been avoided, and having an experienced attorney help guide you can be very valuable in helping save you both time and money. Best wishes to you.  ... Read More