Estates

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.

The next of kin can visit their kin in the hospital, can make decisions for an unconscious person, can inherit property, can arrange for a funeral.

Probate of a Will is a civil court action for the purpose of the orderly transfer of property from a deceased person's estate to his or her heirs. A Will is a formal document directing how the deceased person's property is to be distributed. If there is no property to distribute, there is no need to probate the Will even if there is one in existence.

Generally, their ownership will be treated as a tenancy in common and the interest of each will pass to their heirs-at-law according to the state laws of intestacy or according to their wills. Their estates will need to be probated. You should seek the advice of an attorney in your area who specializes in probate law. You can check to see if your state has adopted the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act.

In Canada, one has 6 months from the date that probate was granted in court to contest or apply to vary the will.

Generally, you should check the return date in the notice you receive. It will state the date on which a hearing will be scheduled and at which you can make your objection.

A deed of trust is a deed that transfers ownership of real estate to a trust.

Suppose William owns land and wants to transfer it to a trust in order to remove it from his individual ownership. William must have a trust drafted by an attorney and could name it the William's Family Trust. All the legally necessary provisions of the trust would be set forth in the trust document and a trustee would need to be appointed. Suppose the named trustee is Judith.


William must transfer his land to the trust by executing a 'deed of trust' that names as the grantee Judith, as the trustee of the William's Family Trust. The grantee in a 'deed of trust' must be the trustee named in the trust document.


A trustee's deed is a deed that transfers land from a trust. It must be executed by the trustee in office at the time of the transfer. Therefore, if the William's Family Trust decides to sell that property to Harry, the trustee's deed would recite Judith, as trustee of the William's Family Trust as the grantor, and Harry as the grantee.

Whether or not a life estate could be revoked would Depending upon the nature of the damage and the response of the life tenants. The tenants would need to be allowed sufficient time to reinstate the property to its original condition before any rescinding action could be taken.

The will must be filed for probate and you must be appointed executor by the court. An 'executor' has no authority until appointed by the court. Once the will has been examined and approved and you have been appointed, the court will issue Letters Testamentary. Those Letters give you the authority to act on behalf of the estate.

only in the movies is there a "reading of the will" when all the family gathers. in reality, depending on the state decedent died in, the original will is deposited with court. If the estate is over $100,000 in California, a Probate Petition is filed and a court process proceeds. Regardless of all the legal stuff...if you are a beneficiary, or heir-at-law, ask the executor for a copy of the will.

There should be no need for a subpoena. You should be able to show your Letter of Authorization from the court that appoints you executor of the estate. That should be enough to establish your right to the records.

If someone dies intestate in England and Wales there is a complex matrix of who gets the estate, designed to satisfy the probable wishes of the deceased. Basically, if you are married your spouse gets the first big chunk with the rest going to your children if you have any. If you are not married it will be divided equally among your children, if you have no children, then your parents, if no parents, your siblings. The list goes on until you have run out of potential relatives. If no relatives can be traced whatsoever then the estate will pass to the Crown.

No. The purpose of a Will is to distribute the testator's property after death. A Will, if properly drafted, becomes operative upon the death of the testator. It must be submitted to probate court for allowance and the testator's property will be distributed as set forth in the Will after the debts of the estate have been paid.

Yes there is. An Executor (male) Executrix (female) who is doing a poor job or cheating or stealing from the said property of the deceased can indeed be taken off the Will, but you will have to see a lawyer about this and prove it. Be very careful with this accusation and learn about Probate, and what the duties of an Executor/Executrix. You can find out by going on www.google.com and asking "What are the duties of an Executor regarding a Will?" Here is a quick scan over what their duties are (I've done it.) For instance, if there are 2 or more heirs in the Will, they can vote re ousting out the Executor/Executrix. **If the heirs are the children of the deceased they have the right to go onto the property and retrieve any personal effects of their parent(s). The Executor/Executrix cannot stop this! DUTIES OF EXECUTOR/EXECUTRIX Once the person is deceased the Executor/Executrix has the right to pay off things like funeral costs, etc., and small bills such as Hydro, electricity, phone, cable, outstanding charge card balances, etc. However, they MUST KEEP RECORDS! Then the Will goes to Probate. Probate makes sure that all house/personal taxes are paid as well as any other outstanding debts such as mortgages, back taxes on home/property, etc. If the Estate is small to average the Executor/Executrix has the right to either do this on their own (you can get the forms) and it's much cheaper and usually quicker than a lawyer doing it and not as hard as lawyers would have you believe. If the Executor/Executrix decides to this they have to account for everything in the said Will and ALL expenses they have had since that person's death. The Executor/Executrix can sell the home, but should give the heirs a chance to decide if one of them wants to buy that house or property outright. Once the house/property is sold that money goes back into the Estate and divided according to the wishes of the deceased. The Executor/Executrix can also sell a car, motorcycle, boat, etc., but, if one of the heirs would like to buy it they should have that option and proceeds go back into the Estate to be equally divided by the said heirs. THE EXECUTOR/EXECUTRIX CANNOT CHARGE GAS, USE ANY MONEY FROM ANY ACCOUNT OF THE DECEASED FOR THEIR OWN PERSONAL GAIN ... SUCH AS BUYING SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES. In some Wills a person will leave anywhere from 2% - 5% or possibly more of the entire Estate to the Executor/Executrix for their time and effort. If it isn't stated in the Will, the heirs don't have to give them anything, but should if they feel a good job as it can be time consuming processing a Will. Usually 3% is fair, but depends if it's a small or large Estate. I would highly suggest you see your lawyer. Good luck Marcy * Probate laws differ in each state. Therefore not all such acts noted are legal in all US states. For example, in many states no property regardless of what the item may be can be taken, sold or distributed until permission is granted by the probate court. In other states any property that is exempted from probate can be distributed to family members or heirs as it is not subject to creditor action in case of outstanding debts. In most US states the only way an executor, executrix or personal representative can be removed is by a bringing suit in probate court charging said persons with misappropriation and mishandling of the estate. Removing a fiduciary is damaging to the estate and is rarely allowed by the court. And of course the accused party has the right to defend themselves and so on and so forth, in other words it is time consuming and usually very expensive. This is the reason it is not prudent to waive bonding of an executor or executrix even if the grantor prefers to do so.

I know of no provision that required any page to be initialed, and I know of no case in which a Will has been alleged to have been invalid because a page wasn't initialed. Initials on each page can be helpful if there is an allegation that someone has tampered with a Will, e.g., switched pages.

Absolutely not. Once a will has been allowed by the court and the executor has been appointed by the court, the executor must settle the estate according to the terms in the will. The executor must follow the state probate laws and works under the supervision of the court. If they mishandle the estate they can be removed and may be personally liable.

A fee that represents a reasonable compensation for the amount of time and effort expended by the executor.

In other words... there's no specific dollar amount; it depends on the details.

Yes. No person can be forced to accept property given to him/her by someone else's will. Likewise, no person can be forced to serve as an executor. A named executor is said to have a duty to offer the will for probate or lodge it with the probate court without offering it for probate, but that is as far as it goes. As to the property, many states have laws whereby a beneficiary may "disclaim" his gift. There is also a common law right to renounce it. Unfortunately in this case, if the person is the sole beneficiary and there are no alternate beneficiaries either in the will or in law, the estate may escheat to the state. If you wish to refuse the estate you may also do it by assigning it to another person. Maybe we can talk.

Why bother? No one can legally inheret debt. Actually debt can be "inherited" if the deceased left a spouse and the married couple resided in a community property state, the debts then revert to the spouse whether he or she incurred them. In non-community property states the deceased's debts are included along with all nonexempt assets and property in the probate procedure. The nonexempt assets and property are then liquidated to pay debts according to their priority and to the extent that funds are available.

Generally, in the United States, a person cannot disinherit their spouse which would be the case if a man left all his property to his blood relatives and left nothing to his wife. In most states the spouse has the statutory right to 'elect' to take an intestate share of the estate. To do so, the surviving spouse need only file a claim with the court. You can check your state laws of intestacy at the link below. The surviving spouse should contact an attorney immediately to determine their right of election under state laws.