Estates

In most jurisdictions in the United States, except Louisiana, a surviving spouse has the legal right to inherit even if the will says otherwise. A person cannot disinherit their spouse. The state laws will distribute some or all of the estate to the surviving spouse under the doctrine of election.

Many states provide statutory power of attorney forms for financial and medical matters that are easy to understand and you only need to fill in the blanks and sign it. You can find these statutory power of attorney forms at businesses that sell legal forms.

* Most people have a Will drawn up and each individual has a right to leave part or all of their Estate to anyone they choose and this includes churches to charities. Until the Will is read then no one in this case will know if they are an heir or not. ==Additional Answer== * If the childless widower died intestate then his property will pass according to the laws of intestacy of the state where he lived. In that case his wife's niece would generally not be an heir. You can check the laws of your state at the related question below.

The estate is responsible for the debts. The debts must be paid by the executor before any assets can be distributed. If the executor distributes any assets while the debts are outstanding, she/he may be personally liable. If there are no assets the estate is declared insolvent and the creditors are out of luck.

The executor has specific powers under the laws in every jurisdiction, once they have been appointed by the probate court. The testator can grant additional powers such as the power to sell real property without a license from the court.

Basically, inheritance rights in the 'estate' of a person who died and was in a common law marriage, are pretty much the same as the inheritance rights in a 'statutory'marriage. Common-law marriages are not that common; they only exist in a very few states in the United States of America. As a general rule, and that is a very general rule, they work exactly the same as the statutory marriage. When you are married, you are married. And you and your property and relationships are controlled by marriage, not the way you got there.

The executor's fee comes out of the general estate funds, not out of the beneficiaries on a pro-rata basis. But in a practical sense, the residuary legatee is the one who pays the fees, just not directly. Example: An estate is worth $100,000. Debts and expenses are $50,000., of which $10,000 are the executor's fees. The will gives the sum of $50,000 to person A and everything else to person B. After payment of the $50,000 in debts and the gift to A of the $50,000., nothing is left. So B, the residuary legatee has effectively paid the executor's fee.

In some states beneficiaries have been successful in petitioning the court to spread the fees in a more equitable manner when there are limited funds.

This depends on the state in which the decedent died, so those laws must be checked. The general rule is that assets in a decedent's name alone may be transferred by the will alone. A will is a document of transfer, except that it operates only upon death. If the spouse has all assets in joint names with her husband, then no probate is needed because the bank account is transferred to the wife by operation of the banking and property laws. Generally, though, even if there is only a single asset, like a car, in the decedent's name, the will has to be probated to give the wife authority to sign the proper paperwork to transfer title.

An executor of a will may be paid for work done on the estate if the will states they are to be paid. Most states will allow expenses to be paid within reason to the executor, but they must show proof.

Yes. You may name co-executors in your will. However, if you do so you should make certain that the two get along well and that your instructions in the will are very clear. You might consider naming an arbitrator, your attorney perhaps, if the two have a disagreement they cannot resolve.

The executor should operate in the estate's best interests.

Estate lawyers handle estates. An estate is what is left when someone dies. It contains all of the assets and debts of the deceased. The estate lawyer will assist the executor in fulfilling their duties and insure the estate gets settled.

You need to put the inheritance into a trust account--If you have children put the kids on the account.

That is a very touchy issue.

Generally, if the deed was properly executed in all respects then you should record it immediately. If there are any defects that cause the land records office to reject it for recording then you will have a serious problem on your hands since the grantor is deceased. State laws vary so you should seek the advice of an attorney.

The named executor or family can secure the property and must immediately file the will and commence the probate procedure. Until appointed by the court, an executor has no legal authority over the estate. If necessary, there is en expedited process by which a temporary executor can be appointed by the court until the executor can be appointed.

That depends on state laws of intestacy and those laws vary from state to state. In some states the surviving spouse takes it all. In some states the spouse and children share. In some states the spouse takes it all unless there are children of the decedent who are not her/his children. You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the related question link provided below.

* Generally there are only one or two Executors to a Will. Executor (male) or Executrix (female.) It is odd there should be five Executors. An Executor/Executrix has the right to decline to handle the wishes of the said Will and this is the reason for basically having a back up Executor or Executrix. The group of siblings should get together and decide who will be handling the Will as Executor or Executrix. If one is chosen then they should get a fee for their trouble which is anywhere from one to four percent of the entire Estate (property, monies, etc.) and that will be up to the other siblings unless otherwise stipulated in the Will.

If you wish to sell it to them. You are not under any obligation to do so.

Most of the time, pastors won't charge a certain amount. They often say that no one is obliged to pay them, especially if the one who passed was a member of the congration. However, my father is a pastor and he usually gets anywere from $20-$100 for a funeral.

If there are no stipulations in the will as to what should be done in the event one of the beneficiaries should die, then the state probate succession laws apply. The executor should contact the probate court for instructions as to the manner in which the deceased beneficiary's share of the estate is to be distributed.

It means you are "basically" your father in the sense that you are finishing up paying your bills, arranging your funeral etc. You are also the "boss" of his estate including dispersing any monies or property according to his will. If you are not sure about the "power of attorney" that is associated with this position, consult your father's attorney for more details. As Executor (in some states) the Excutor is allowed a small payment for their "services" if they so wish. The Executor has the power to sell anything that is not willed to someone but those monies must also then be included as part of the estate. You also will have to disconnect/cancel any car insurance(s), phone, gas etc, notify the Social Security and DMV of his death including getting all the death certificates for each, his credit cards, banking, home owners insurance and such. Each will require a death certificate. Usually the funeral homes can provide you as many of them as you might need.

Yes. The trust can name any number of trustees and if there is more than one it must state whether the trustees must all execute any documents together or have the power to sign documents independently.

Generally a will would be filed wherever the decedent last lived. However, if the decedent owned real property in any other jurisdictions (states) the will would also need to be filed in the probate court where the land is located in order to vest title to that land in the heirs. In Massachusetts that would be a Petition For Allowance of a Foreign Will.