Estates

Adoption law varies state to state but in general the short answer is yes. You can adopt someone of any age. Of course, to make someone an heir to your estate, the easier way would be to execute a will.

The probate process is not completed until the estate has been distributed. You should complain to the court that the executor has not carried out her duties and ask that she be replaced. You should also be complaining to the attorney who is handling the estate.

This is very tricky. It all depends on the original estate documents. If the documents state something like " If _______ is unable or unwilling to serve or ceases to act then _________ shall act..." In this case I would suggest no because the original person whose documents you are executing already covered that. However, if no one else is listed and the mother has a power of attorney that states that the daughter may act on her behalf to settle estates and trusts then yes that power can be exercised in accordance to the documentation under the guidelines of the state and the county. But as stated earlier if backup individual is listed if the first can not do the duty then no.

An executor is charged with acting in the best interests of the deceased and adhere to the stipulations of the will. An executor may acquire money from the estate if: 1. there are specific stipulations in the will that the executor is entitled to funds as compensation for their efforts. 2. The executor is a named beneficiary of the will, a situation that often happens with couples.

When the probate process is completed and the court has signed off. The letters of authorization do expire as well.

It will depend on specific state laws and whether there are assets that need to go through probate. But in general, it is the contents of the estate that determine the need for probate, not the existence of a will.

If the person left a Will the Will will identify who the administrator (executor) of the estate is to be - only this person can anministor the estate. If there is no Will then the state will appoint an administrator (there will be country specific laws relating to how this happens).

THE TENANT IS STILL ALIVE BUT HAS MOVED

we need to know more facts. Who granted the life estate? Are they still alive? Were there any terms to the life estate, such as "if unable to occupy for six consecutive months, the life estate terminates". The person granted the life estate can also terminate it by filing a document at the registry of deeds.

This depends on the laws of the state where the will is to be probated. Some states have more stringent proof requirements than others in the event the witnesses are dead or unknown. Several points to be made here. Most states require wills to be witnessed by two people but that only one of them needs to appear to sign an affidavit that he or she witnessed the testator and the other witness sign the will. If one witness has to sign such a proof for the will to be probated, then more than likely the will will not be admitted to probate, because proper legal execution of the will cannot be made. If one witness has died but the other is available to sign the affidavit, then there should be no problem as long as that state does not require both witnesses to attest to the will's execution. In New Jersey, case law developed whereby if a will had a proper attestation clause and if it had been signed by two witnesses, then someone having knowledge of the handwriting of one witness could sign an affidavit that the signature of one witness on the will is in fact the handwriting of that witness. This makes it likely that the will was signed by that person as a witness in the manner described in the attestation clause. The attestation clause must properly describe how the will was executed or else this technique is unavailable. Modern probate laws governing execution of the will now provided for what is called a "self-proving will". To make a will self-proving, the testator and witnesses sign an affidavit attesting to the proper execution of the will at the same time that the will is executed. This affidavit is then used as the affidavit of proof that a witness to the will would have had to sign to probate the will. This eliminates the need to have one of the actual witnesses to the will at the time of probate. If a will is properly self-proving, there is no further need for the witness to be available to prove the will. This innovation was done in order to save some wills from being denied probate simply because the witnesses had died or were unavailable to prove the will.

You fill out an application at the probate court. If there are no objections, the court will grant letters of authority.

Yes. It is common for a beneficiary to be also named the executor.

The contents of a Will remain private until the death of the testator so the person who is named as executor may not be known until the Will is read. As the role of an executor is merely to distribute the assets of the deceased in accordance with the terms of the Will of the deceased, an executor will have no say in how the Will is prepared or to whom the assets should be distributed. Therefore, there is no legal reason why an executor should not be named as a beneficiary in a Will. In fact it is quite often preferable for a family member (and beneficiary) to act in the role of executor.

That arrangement is frequently used in wills executed by husband and wife or life partners where each leaves the entire estate to the other and names the other as the executor.

You cannot sell property free and clear of a life estate unless the life tenant consents to the sale and releases their life estate. Otherwise, the buyer would take the property subject to the life estate.

No. In order to protect the trust property from claims the beneficiary should not be their own trustee. That type of scheme makes the trust vulnerable to creditors and also makes a trust invalid in most jurisdictions.

A life estate is not a fee interest and a bank will not loan money on real property unless it can take the property by foreclosure in the case of a default. The fee owners (or remaindermen) would need to consent to the mortgage.

The exception is the "enhanced life estate" available in Florida and few other states whereby the life estate holder has the power to sell and mortgage the property during their life.

Not necessarily. A lien is for a debt which is secured by the property. It might be for a loan the owner got, or it might be for work done by a contractor who wasn't paid (mechanic's lien). If the debt is in default, then the property might be subject to being sold to raise money to cover the debt (the property owner would keep any proceeds over the amount of the lien). Or, the lien may simply lie dormant until the owner wants to sell, and hinder the sale until it is satisfied.

In Texas, if the home is your Homestead. It cannot be taken from you whether or not you have a lien unless that lien is a Mortgage lien or property tax lien. If it is a Mechanic's Lien, meaning that there was work done on the property and the debt is unpaid, that person may file a lien of the property. In this case, if and only if you are selling the property, must the lien be satisfied. In some cases the person who performed work on the property my sue for the balance which may result in your having to sell the property to satisfy the lien. When you close on the property at a Title Company, all liens are paid before clear title can be transferred.

In either of the aforementioned scenarios the lien will be satisfied.

In general, the homestead of an individual is safe from any creditor unless it is for mortgage default or for failure to property taxes of any kind which in some cases also includes Home Owner Association dues.

The Joint Tenancy gives the surviving spouse ownership of the house without having to pay inheritance tax and other things. The items in the Will, have to go through Probate and be distributed to the beneficiaries.

You need to provide more details regarding the nature of the trust. Generally, if there is a trustee involved then title to the real estate is in the trust and not what you refer to as the "owner". The trust is the owner. The trustee powers are set forth in the document that created the trust. You need to review those provisions to ascertain the powers of the trustee for selling real estate.

I think you might have meant "Grant Deed", not "Grand". It is something that means you are given rights to own a certain property. Not sure of the EXACT definition though. * A grant deed is the common type of deed used to transfer property from the seller to the buyer (or company) or inherited property from the name of deceased to the beneficiary and so forth.

The short answer is "no." In most (if not all) US states, a lawyer is not required to draft a will. The rest of this is my opinion: If the will is not a complicated one, doing it yourself is not very hard. If the difficulty is higher, you may wish to still do it yourself, but it will take some time. If the will is complicated, find a competent estate planner and estate lawyer. If you don't know all of your state's verbiage that needs to be included in the will that you want to draft, get a lawyer. If you are willing to take the time to learn the verbiage that must be included, there are resources to help. If you don't know how you would like to make it work, or do not know the best way to protect the most stuff, find a competent estate planner. Once again, if you are willing to take the time to learn how to do it, there are resources to help. I would recommend to not go to a lawyer to learn how to structure the will, nor would I go to an estate planner to get the will's verbiage. It is the lawyer's job to make sure the will holds up in court, should it be challenged. It is the estate planner's job to make sure the money and assets go where you want them to. It is both the lawyer's and the estate planner's job to make their employer money. In some instances, they can save you money and heartache.

No. They have transferred ownership to the new owners. They no longer have any ownership interest in the property. If they want the property back the new owners must agree to transfer it back by deed.

No. They have transferred ownership to the new owners. They no longer have any ownership interest in the property. If they want the property back the new owners must agree to transfer it back by deed.

No. They have transferred ownership to the new owners. They no longer have any ownership interest in the property. If they want the property back the new owners must agree to transfer it back by deed.

No. They have transferred ownership to the new owners. They no longer have any ownership interest in the property. If they want the property back the new owners must agree to transfer it back by deed.

The executor has no legal right to live there rent-free, but this will depend on the probate laws of the state of probate. It is a tricky practical question because there are benefits and detriments to having the executor live in the house rent free.

Begin with the idea that an executor entitled to complete possession of all estate property during administration but is not allowed to use estate property for personal gain Also, executors must use assets of the estate to reasonably maximize income prior to distribution. Taking those at face value the answer is that the executor has no right to live there rent-free. Living rent-free is using estate assets for personal gain and not earning income. Theoretically it could be rented short term to someone other than the executor and the house would earn income. But renting houses on a short term basis is not recommended and usually not done because tenants may refuse to leave and have to be evicted through the courts. Or they may damage the house.

In the real world though it sometimes happens because there are benefits to having someone in the house rather than leaving it vacant. A vacant house costs more to insure than a house with a resident, so the estate saves on insurance. Another benefit is prevention of possible damage in case a fire starts or pipes freeze or vandalism occurs or contents are stolen or even if squatters break in. A person living there would be able to prevent serious damage.

The problem with those benefits is that aside from the extra cost of insurance, they cannot be quantified to see if they are worth more than not renting the place out. For this reason, it is generally held that an executor has no inherent right to live in the estate house rent-free. But the alternative is to pay higher insurance rates and perhaps pay to board up the house. Either way the estate will incur some expense to preserve the house. For this reason, everyone usually gets together and agrees on some compromise.

The executor might be the spouse of the deceased, and the property might be the house in which the executor lived prior to death - back to the question of practicalities

If you are speaking of the relative or relatives entitled to share in your property if you die intestate (without a will) then if you are unmarried your parents are your next of kin. If they were deceased then your sister would be your next of kin.

In another sense they are all your next of kin. See related question link.

yes anything that you dont have to get a back ground check for you can hunt with or have

Mostly correct however some areas prohibit felons from hunting or obtaining a hunting permit. It is always best to check with a lawyer that is familiar with local hunting and gun laws.

The easiest answer is to contact a probate attorney in your area. Otherwise, you can go to the county courthouse and ask the clerk for forms. They cannot provide legal advice though, so your best contacting an attorney to handle this. There are a lot of deadlines and specific procedures that must be followed.