Probate Legal Questions

If your mom died without a Will, the Intestate laws are triggered.  The state dictates who the beneficiaries are, which usually begins with surviving parents.  I believe you and your sibling would share equally.  However, one of you must open up an Estate at your County’s Orphans Court.  That person would be appointed administrator of the Estate and generally has wide discretion provided that the Estate is divided equally as the administrator is a fiduciary for the Estate, not just their own interests. I trust this answers your questions, and, if you live in the Delaware Valley, do not hesitate to call or email me 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 More

Depending on the county in which the proceeding would be located.  If you are in a county with statutory probate courts, in all likelihood you will be required to have a lawyer.  Smaller counties, not so much.   With statutory probate courts in larger counties, the rule is that in order to represent someone else in court, you need to have a law license.  Since probate proceedings create a separate entity.. The Estate of ..., a licensed lawyer has to represent that estate.... Read More

I regret that you have a severe uphill battle which you will likely lose.  As your fiancé passed away, all of his property became property of the Estate which I trust his father is administering.  Since there is no Will, Intestate laws dictate distribution.  I believe parents take first and the house will become his property.  He may then keep it or sell it as he wishes and can certainly decline selling it to you.  Your only potential claim against the Estate is unjust enrichment for reimbursement of the funds you invested.  The argument would be that your fiancé knew or should have known he was going to reimburse you with funds or an interest in the real estate.  However, the Dead Mans Statute may very well preclude any evidence of what he may have said to you at any time.  If you wish to make a claim, you should seek estate counsel ASAP. I trust this answers your questions and, if you live in the Delaware Valley, feel free to call or email me 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 More

You have rights. You need to set up probate of the estate as your husband's next of kin and claim your dower rights to the property as part of the estate. If he was married before or had other children, that can create other issues. You want to be appointed personal representative of the estate so you can record a deed giving you full rights of ownership.   Best of luck to you. ... Read More

How does this relate to immigration law?  More information is needed about how the property was owned.  It is unclear if your mother had a will and whether you had an interest or rights under Tennessee law. The above is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney client relationship.... Read More

If the estate is pending in Georgia, merely walk into the probate court where the estate is pending and ask for a copy of the entire file.  Estate files are public records and anyone is entitled to a copy of the file. You will have to pay for it.  If you are seeking to correct an alleged wrong, any attorney is going to need a copy of the file anyway to start working on the matter.  Better to get a copy of the file now and try to figure out for yourself what is going on.  ... Read More

Hi, It should be easy to transfer the  judgment to your name since you are the trustee.  BUT that is assuming the judgment was part of the trust.  I would need to read the trust.  Otherwise, you might have to go to court to change the name of the judgment creditor.  How fast this can be done also depends upon the amount of the judgment.   I also happen to do a lot of collection work.  Is the judgment still valid?  When was it entered? Was it renewed?   I would need more information to give you difinitive answers.... Read More

Depending on the documents, based on how you describe things, your step-father does not have dower rights (the right of a widow or widower to reside in the property after the spouse's death). A court would be hard pressed to accept that this was not done previously. Again, the papers, the will and the deed will be deciding as to whether he has a claim or not. On these facts, it doesn't look like it but it makes sense to review this with counsel before deciding what to do.... Read More

Hello.  Thank you for reaching out.  Yes, it is important to have both a financial and healthcare power of attorney in place.  This protects both you and your heir from having to go through a lengthy and costly probate court process to become your Guardian or Conservator if you become incapacitated. Additionally, you should consider having a Will or Living Trust to plan for and protect your assets. Feel free to reach out if you would like assistance.... Read More

You should have been notified when your father's Will was offered for probate, yes. The only exception is that, if you were under 18 at that time, your notice would have generally been provided to a guardian ad litem- generally, an attorney appointed by the probate court to review the Will and represent your interests.  ... Read More

You don't stated whether there was ever a divorce. You also don't state where the deceased person had his principal residence. Both of those things are critical facts.   In general, for people who have their principal residence in Georgia, a legal divorce causes a former spouse to be treated as if she died before the person did under a Will that was executed during the marriage and that does not specifically state that it is intended to remain in effect even after a divorce. But if there was a separation but never a divorce, then the ex-wife is not an ex-wife; she's a current wife, and still has full rights. And other states may have somewhat different results even if a divorce became final.   Whoever is nominated as the Executor of the Will needs to hire an experienced probate attorney to help with this situation. That's the best way for that person to figure out who has what rights.  ... Read More

Hello.  I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your grandmother.     If she had no Will, this means that she died "intestate".  This means that the laws of the state of Michigan will determine who receives her assets.  If she was on state assistance, they will likely file a claim against her estate for reimbursment of any funds paid on her behalf.  If she only has her home, this could mean that her Personal Representative would have to sell her home to generate funds and pay the claim.... Read More

There are quite a few local services that could help with the leg work/"boots on the ground" to clear out her condo and clean it up.  You could have yourself appointed to have the necessary legal authority, hire people to clean out the condo and get it ready to sell, then sell it and receive the proceeds.     It's hard to say the headaches you may have down the road if you do nothing...... Read More

I'm not quite sure if I understand what you're asking.  But I'll try to answer.     If a beneficiary was named on an account for someone who passed away, that beneficiary becomes the owner of the account.  This asset would be outside of the probate estate and the Personal Representative of the estate would have no legal authority to inquire about the account or received information.... Read More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More