Estates

No. The trustee has the power and authority to handle the money in the trust according to the terms set forth in the trust. The trustee must distribute the profits as provided in the trust and must distribute the remaining trust property when the trust terminates according to the provisions in the trust. The trust may also provide compensation for the trustee.

Generally a joint bank account is held as Joint Tenants With Right of Survivorship (JTWRS or JTWROS). Upon the death of one account holder the funds of that person pass directly to the other joint holder(s) and are not subject to probate procedure. State laws determine bank account ownership rights, when the signature card does not designate how the account is held the state default laws governing the issue usually apply.

The executor of their estate is responsible for this, an executor is usually appointed by the probate court. They have power of attorney to care for all assets, property and investments.

Local laws and regulations will determine how the executor makes the sale: public auction or private sale, and choice may depend upon whether there are liens on the property (mortgage, taxes, judgments, etc) that exceed the fair market value. A contested will might delay the sale indefinitely.

Per stirpes (pronounced /pɝː ˈstɝːpiːz/ "by branch") is a legal term in Latin. An estate of a decedent is distributed per stirpes, if each branch of the family is to receive an equal share of an estate. When the heir in the first generation of a branch predeceased the decedent, the share that would have been given to the heir would be distributed among the heir's issues in equal shares. It may also be known as right of representation distribution, and differs from distribution per capitaas members of the same generation may inherit different amounts.

If the primary or secondary beneficiaries cannot be located, and there is no residuary clause (the safety net), then it is as if there were no will at all, and the local laws of intestacy would apply. If none of the relatives listed (spouse, children, parents, grandparents, cousins, etc) can be found, or if they have pre-deceased the testator, then the estate escheats to the state treasury. This could take years; making certain nobody else can be found.

The title should automatically pass to you if you acquired the property as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, as the surviving owner. You should record a copy of the death certificate in the land records to clear the title.

In the United States you can if the executor is not performing the functions of an executor properly. An executor can be sued to either remove him as executor, to surcharge him for losses he may have caused to the estate or to force him to do what he is supposed to, like transferring assets. If an executor causes monetary losses to the estate, he can be sued to make him reimburse the estate for the losses either from his own pocket or from his statutory commissions. All states in the US have statutes that govern the duties of executors and spell out the remedies beneficiaries and third parties have.

In order to enter into a vaility marriage in Texas, whether ceremonial or common law, the parties must possess the requisite capacity to marry. In order to establish a valid marriage in Texas, the parties must: # Be a man and woman (Texas Family Code §2.001 and §2.401); # Not have been divorced within the past thirty days [Texas Family Code §2.002]; # Not be presently married to a third party [Texas Family Code §2.002]; # Be eighteen years of age [Texas Family Code §2.102[, unless the underage party has secured an order from the court granting permission to marry [Texas Family Code §2.103[, or has proof of parental consent [Texas Family Code §2.202]; and # Not be related as an ancestor or descendant, related by blood or adoption, nor be siblings by whole, half blood, or by adoption, nor may either be a parent, brother, or sister by whole or half blood, nor be the son or daughter of a brother or sister by whole or half blood [Texas Family Code §1.03 and §1.92] In essence, the parties to a informal marriage, like ceremonial marriage, must be of the opposite sex, of legal age, and possess no legal impediment, such as those concerning kinship or the existence of a current marriage. MEETING THE THREE-PRONG TEST A finding of the existence of a common law or informal marriage is only justified if the evidence shows that the parties agreed to be married, that they lived together in Texas as husband and wife, and they have publicly represented themselves as married. All three of these requisites must exist at the same time. In addition, the common law marriage without formality statute precludes proof of the existence of an informal marriage if the acts occurred in a state other than Texas. Evidence to prove a common-law marriage in the States that recognize such marriages must include: # If the husband and wife are living, a statement from each and a statement from a blood relative of each; # If either the husband or wife is dead, a statement from the surviving widow or widower and statements from two blood relatives of the decedent; or The statements of the husband, wife, and relatives must be made on special forms, Statement Regarding Marriage or Statement of Marital Relationship, submit evidence that confirms that you had a common-law marriage, such as mortgage/rent receipts, bank records, insurance policies, etc. If you adequately explain why you cannot obtain the required statements from relatives, you may submit statements from other persons who know the facts. Provide any other investigative evidence relating to your case.

Usually it designates an agreement made between the owner of real property and other persons which allows the owner to live on the property for the duration of his or her life. The person may also collect rent or other profits connected with the property during their lifetime. Likewise the person is required to pay all costs of maintaining the property (including taxes) in, at the very least the condition it was in when the agreement was made. Said property cannot be sold or partitioned w/o the consent of the "remaindermen" (person(s) named in the life estate agreement) At the time of death the property automatically reverts to the "remaindermen" without the necessity of probate procedures.

The executor has a responsibility to preserve the estate. They can remove items for appraisal and sale, but the assets still remain a part of the estate until properly distributed.

Yes the executor can certainly bring a lawsuit. There is no requirement for there to be heirs to the estate to bring the suit. The estate may have many debts to settle, including medical bills and be able to use the money.

As a general rule (which might vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction), an executor takes his/her power from the will, not from any official act pertaining to the will. As such, an executor can dispose of assets effective immediately upon the death of the 'testator.' ==Clarification== Generally, in the United States, legal title to property does not pass to the heirs until the estate is probated. An executor has no power to sell assets, especially real estate, until they have been duly appointed by the probate court. The will must be presented to the court for "allowance". Briefly, there is a statutory period during which interested parties may make objections to the appointment or contest the will. If there are no objections the executor is appointed and issued "Letters Testamentary" which give the executor the legal power to perform such duties as access bank accounts, make insurance claims, settle debts, settle any pending lawsuits, distribute personal property according to the will, etc. There is a statutory period during which creditors must file a claim. The debts of the estate must be paid before any assets can be distributed. Generally an executor can only sell real estate if that power was specifically granted in the will or if the court issued a license to do so.

A Life Estate provides its owner with the use and possession of real property for life. The life tenant can extinguish that right by executing a release that must be recorded in the land records. Otherwise it is automatically extinguished upon the death of the life tenant.

You need to get a real estate attorney to fill out paperwork and file them.

If you prefer to "do it yourself", I would recommend 2 steps:

1) Discuss your specific scenario with a knowledgeable local real estate professional. They can point out any considerations within your specific situation.

2) You would file a QUIT CLAIM deed at your county office and add the spouse's name to the deed. You should contact your mortgage company to see if this has any adverse effects.

No, if they are not included in the last will and testament of the deceased they have no legal right to any property as they are not considered in the "blood line" of the deceased. They are entitled to property that the biological mother held in her name only unless the property was acquired during marriage and the couple resided in a community property state. Also, they may be entitled to personal items such as clothing, pictures, family heirlooms or jewelry and so forth, but that is determined by state probate laws. Unfortunately, such situations sometimes become a matter of litigation with a judge deciding what (if any) property the surviving spouse is legally required to release to surviving family members. It doesn't sound like heirship is at issue. Given that the mother is the decedent, I assume the question concerns the mother's Will. If the mother left a Will leaving everything to her husband, or to whomever other than the stepchildren, then the stepchildren take nothing.

I think you mean medicaid. Medicare is the program for which seniors (and some others) are eligible. Medicaid is the program for those of limited means. The iirevocable trust works if the patient is not a beneficiary of the trust and conveyed his / her assets to the trust at least five years ago. If the conveyance was within five years, then the trust assets will be counted as the patient's assets for purposes of qualifying for medicaid.

The remainderman can sell their interest as a remainderman in the property subject to the life estate. The life tenant has the right to the use and possession of the property for life.

This is a good question. The answer depends on what your are making the beneficiary designation for. That is, an estate, trust, life insurance policy, IRA or retirement account, bank account. Also, what is the total amount of your assets, are you in a community property state? Finally, what do you want to accomplish. Also, estate plans and most policies and accounts allow you to divide between several beneficiaries and name successor beneficiaries, who take the asset if the primary beneficiary fails to survive.

The most basic answer to the question is then beneficiary should be whoever you wish to receive the property when you die. For most married couples with moderate estates, their estate planning documents, life insurance, etc., will name their surviving spouse as the beneficiary. Where the estate is sizable enough sometimes the couple will establish particular gifts for children. Particularly if there are children of a prior marriage or relationship.

For gifts going to minors (under the age of 18), most states have a version of the Unified Transfer to Minors Act. This act (generally) places a minor's property into the hands of a custodian. A court order is required to access (withdraw) the funds in the account. The entire account comes under the minor's control when they reach age 18. (In California, you can delay this to age 21, but you must include the directions in your estate plan.) As an alternative, where the funds are substantial or require significant management, a guardian of the Minor's estate may be required.

The custodian or guardian is normally appointed by the court, but you can specify one in your estate plan.

To avoid a custodial account or guardianship, or delay distributions beyond age 21 (in California) you will need to establish a trust for your minor child. The good news is that this can be an "empty trust" (holds no assets) until your death.

Some assets, as a general rule, should always designate a person as the beneficiary (or beneficiaries). Life insurance and IRA in particular. Life insurance policies are income tax free to the beneficiary (but included in your gross estate for estate tax- more on that in a bit.) So, designating a beneficiary other than your trust or estate makes the most sense.

IRAs (Traditional IRAs) have an additional reason to name real people as beneficiaries. You may recall that IRA distributions are taxed as income. When a person, or persons, inherit a IRA account as a designated beneficiary they can: 1) Cash out immediately; 2) Cash out over a five year period; 3) Take the IRA as an "inherited IRA" requiring them to take a required minimum distribution and allowing them to take additional distributions as needed. While the money they receive is still taxed as income, they can stretch the liability over many years- and they can grow the IRA without paying taxes (except on distributions.) Better yet, they can designate their own beneficiaries and continue this cycle for generations. (Until the feds change the rules.)

In contrast, if your estate or trust is the beneficiary of a traditional IRA, they must cash out immediately (Trusts and estates cannot "own" and IRA). As trusts and estates pay the some of the highest income tax rates, this usually is not the optimum answer.

And, of course, if you name no beneficiary for your life insurance or IRA, the assets are subject to probate which may increase cost of administering your estate.

Estate tax planning is less of an issue under the current rules, except for very large estates. The current exclusion amount for 2016 is $5,450,000 (it increases annualy until the feds change the rules.) Also, the surviving spouse gets the benefit of both an unlimited marital deduction (all property going to the survivor escapes estate tax) and portability (where the survivor gets the unused portion of the deceased spouse's gift and estate tax.)

Of course, this is for Federal Estate Tax- some states may have an estate tax (based on the amount of the decedent's estate) or an inheritance tax (based on the amount the beneficiaries receive), or both.

What this means is that a married couple can effectively shield more than $10,000,000 of property passing to their heirs with a very simple estate plan.

For larger estates (or estates anticipated to grow substantially), there are some additional estate planning devises to avoid estate tax. An ILIT (Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust) is one. An ILIT is a trust which owns an insurance policy on your life, and because you do not "own" the trust the policy is not included in your estate for estate tax calculations. But, they are irrevocable, so you can not change your mind latter. And, ILITs have other administrative, cost and tax considerations associated with them, so a careful analysis is required for their optimal use.

As you can see, the question of "Who should be the beneficiary?" is a more complicated question than it appears, and the advice of a qualified estate planning attorney is generally worthwhile and recomended.

Yes. An executor has no legal authority until the will has been filed with the probate court and the executor has been appointed by that court. If the person named as executor in the will is deceased or chooses not to act as executor, they can file a declination or the petitioner can note in the petition the named executor is deceased. In either case, some other person can petition for appointment as executor.

• The parents will have a Will and the 'Estate' meaning the home and any properties which also includes both property and personal taxes along with investments such as a Retirement Funds, etc.; also contents in the house and including vehicles or other items such as boats; farm equipment, etc., is included in the Estate. The Will has to be Probated and the creditors paid off and what is left from that Estate will be divided amongst the heirs listed in the parent's Will. If the Estate is large enough the mortgage will be paid off as well as any other debts and what is left will go to the heirs. The children of the parents if listed in the Will can also sell the house and pay off the mortgage or one or more of the children can take over the mortgage by either living in the house or renting it out.

In most states, a step child would not be an heir at law of the deceased unless they were legally adopted by the decedent. New Jersey is an exception whereby a step child can inherit if there are no other living heirs at law. You should speak to an attorney in your area to check for the proper drafting of your will. A properly drafted will is not vulnerable to challenges.

Yes, if a Will or Trust were on file in one state and the person died in another, their will is as legally enforceable in the second state as it was in it's original filing state.

The issue is that only the probate court in the original filing state would have jurisdiction over the matter. So you would not be able to file a probate claim in the new state.

Customs and legal provisions vary from state to state so you would need to check your local practices. Generally, an executor can only execute a deed if that power was granted in the will or if there was a license to sell real estate granted by the court. If the power to sell real estate was granted in the will, the executor may execute a deed to the devisees in order to extinguish the power to sell and to establish the tenancy desired by the grantees. If the power to sell was not granted in the will, if the will has been allowed and the period for creditors to make claims has passed then the devisees do not need a deed to prove their ownership. If the devisees desire to establish their ownership by deed and also establish a particular tenancy they can execute a deed to a straw and then have the straw convey the property back with the desired tenancy recited. In some states a straw is not necessary. You should seek advice from the attorney who handled the estate. She/he will be able to advise you regarding the local legal requirments.