Estates

You need to open an estate. This can be done at the court house and most of them can give you a complete set of the forms that need to be filled out. If all of the beneficiaries agree and are notified, the court will issue a letter of authority. A local probate attorney can be a big help in taking care of doing everything correctly.

It depends on the two state's laws. Generally, though, as long as the document execution meets the requirements for the state in which you are attempting to admit the documents into probate, then yes.

Some states have statutes that allow a will that is valid in the state of origin even if it is not valid in the state where the property is situated. For example, the requirements for a valid will that disinherits adult children are more stringent in Massachusetts than in Florida. However, Massachusetts law allows a foreign will as long as it is valid in the state of origin.

Legally you have six months from the date of grant of representation (probate) to contest a Will in England.

Then another person will need to be appointed such as an attorney.

Then another person will need to be appointed such as an attorney.

Then another person will need to be appointed such as an attorney.

Then another person will need to be appointed such as an attorney.

You are probably referring to L.S. which appears behind the signature line of the documents. It is the abbreviation of Legal Seal, which is more or less a formality.

Whole life

The next of kin of the last surviving spouse would inherit under the laws of intestacy of the state where they lived. If the brother is not the only next of kin then someone needs to contact an attorney and initiate a probate proceeding. An estate must be probated in order for title to real property to pass to the heirs. You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the link below.

Generally, jointly held property passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. It does not become a probate asset so it is not exposed to creditors. However, the situation changes if the creditor attached the property prior to the death of the debtor. Creditors can attach jointly held property while the debtor is living but if a creditor fails to attach prior to the death of the debtor then the property passes to the surviving joint tenant and the creditor is out of luck.

Assuming the testator of the will is deceased, the person's having need to know may file a request with the probate court for a copy of the Will. If the testator is not deceased, only they can make the contents of the will known, the executor would be acting on the behalf of the testator in matters of confidentiality and could not reveal the terms.

What I understand from just googling it is that a probate bond is a means of ensuring that the executor or administrator of an estate will administer the estate properly and not make off with the dead person's money. It ensures this by making the executor or administrator post a bond which I think is like getting insurance.

The executor/administrator (let's say "Dude") pays an "insurance premium" to the bond company ("insurance company,"), and if Dude messes up the estate, the bond company will then have to pay whoever was hurt, but can then come after Dude's butt to make him or her reimburse the bond company.

Also, I think Dude takes the insurance premium out of the estate itself, so that he/she doesn't have to pay it out of pocket.

Lastly, not everyone can be Dude, because a lot of people are rejected for having bad credit. That is to say, the bond company doesn't trust them not to steal stuff from the estate because their credit is so bad, and so won't insure them. This part doesn't make sense to me, because there's a big difference between being poor and being a crook, but hey, I didn't make the rules.

An appointed executor can decline the responsibility. The court will appoint someone else to serve in that capacity.

A legally married couple remains married until the marriage is dissolved by a divorce decree. If you are estranged from your husband and he dies you would be the surviving spouse and listed in the next of kin. If he died intestate you would be entitled take an intestate share of his estate as the surviving spouse according to your state laws of intestacy.

If he died and left a will that excludes you then in most states you can take a share of the estate under the Doctrine of Election. That share generally equals an intestate share. If you own any property by a survivorship deed his interest passed to you automatically and did not become part of his estate.

In addition, as the legal spouse you would be favored by the court to be appointed the executor. The "fiancee" has no legal rights whatsoever.

You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the related question link provided below. You should consult with an attorney who specializes in probate law in your jurisdiction.

No, as Executor it is your brothers responsibility to settle your fathers taxes, funeral expenses and taxes. He then needs to divide up the remains of the estate as set out in your father's will. If he needs help from a law firm to do this then the law firm will need to be paid (out of the estate) before the heirs inherit.

As executor your brother can use any law firm he chooses to help him but as an heir it would be you right to ask to see your father will and the estate's accounts when you get paid out (assuming you are named as a heir in the will).

No, a family residence should not be placed into a family limited partnership. A family limited partnership must have a business purpose. Putting your family residence into a family limited partnership will result in the loss of the limited liability these entities have, and if used for estate planning purposes, will result in the Internal Revenue Service disregarding the entity completely.

Generally yes if your dad dies intestate. In Texas the intestacy law is as follows (please note especially the bold sections): Sec. 38. PERSONS WHO TAKE UPON INTESTACY. (a) Intestate Leaving No Husband or Wife. Where any person, having title to any estate, real, personal or mixed, shall die intestate, leaving no husband or wife, it shall descend and pass in parcenary to his kindred, male and female, in the following course: 1. To his children and their descendants. 2. If there be no children nor their descendants, then to his father and mother, in equal portions. But if only the father or mother survive the intestate, then his estate shall be divided into two equal portions, one of which shall pass to such survivor, and the other half shall pass to the brothers and sisters of the deceased, and to their descendants; but if there be none such, then the whole estate shall be inherited by the surviving father or mother. 3. If there be neither father nor mother, then the whole of such estate shall pass to the brothers and sisters of the intestate, and to their descendants. 4. If there be none of the kindred aforesaid, then the inheritance shall be divided into two moieties, one of which shall go to the paternal and the other to the maternal kindred, in the following course: To the grandfather and grandmother in equal portions, but if only one of these be living, then the estate shall be divided into two equal parts, one of which shall go to such survivor, and the other shall go to the descendant or descendants of such deceased grandfather or grandmother. If there be no such descendants, then the whole estate shall be inherited by the surviving grandfather or grandmother. If there be no surviving grandfather or grandmother, then the whole of such estate shall go to their descendants, and so on without end, passing in like manner to the nearest lineal ancestors and their descendants. ===(b) Intestate Leaving Husband or Wife.=== Where any person having title to any estate, real, personal or mixed, ===other than a community estate,=== shall die intestate as to such estate, and shall leave a surviving husband or wife, such estate of such intestate shall descend and pass as follows: 1. If the deceased have a child or children, or their descendants, the surviving husband or wife shall take one-third of the personal estate, and the balance of such personal estate shall go to the child or children of the deceased and their descendants. The surviving husband or wife shall also be entitled to an estate for life, in one-third of the land of the intestate, with remainder to the child or children of the intestate and their descendants. 2. If the deceased have no child or children, or their descendants, then the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to all the personal estate, and to one-half of the lands of the intestate, without remainder to any person, and the other half shall pass and be inherited according to the rules of descent and distribution; provided, however, that if the deceased has neither surviving father nor mother nor surviving brothers or sisters, or their descendants, then the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the estate of such intestate. Sec. 41. MATTERS AFFECTING AND NOT AFFECTING THE RIGHT TO INHERIT. (b) Heirs of Whole and Half Blood. In situations where the inheritance passes to the collateral kindred of the intestate, if part of such collateral be of the whole blood, and the other part be of the half blood only, of the intestate, each of those of half blood shall inherit only half so much as each of those of the whole blood; but if all be of the half blood, they shall have whole portions. Sec. 43. DETERMINATION OF PER CAPITA AND PER STIRPES DISTRIBUTION. When the intestate's children, descendants, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, or any other relatives of the deceased standing in the first or same degree alone come into the distribution upon intestacy, they shall take per capita, namely: by persons; and, when a part of them being dead and a part living, the descendants of those dead shall have right to distribution upon intestacy, such descendants shall inherit only such portion of said property as the parent through whom they inherit would be entitled to if alive. ===Sec. 45. COMMUNITY ESTATE.=== (a) On the intestate death of one of the spouses to a marriage, the community property estate of the deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse if: (1) no child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse; or (2) all surviving children and descendants of the deceased spouse are also children or descendants of the surviving spouse. (b) On the intestate death of one of the spouses to a marriage, ===if a child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse and the child or descendant is not a child or descendant of the surviving spouse, one-half of the community estate is retained by the surviving spouse and the other one-half passes to the children or descendants of the deceased spouse.=== The descendants shall inherit only such portion of said property to which they would be entitled under Section 43 of this code. In every case, the community estate passes charged with the debts against it.

You will need to see an attorney to determine the answer to this question. It will be entirely dependent on the state law in the state where your father resided before his death. When you visit with the attorney, you should take a list of your father's living and dead relatives including spouse, children, and parents. It is helpful if you mark the ones who are deceased in some way. In addition, if you know what assetts he owned and where they are held (bank, insurance, stock broker etc.) make a list of that also. Since his debts must be cleared, you should make a list of the debts of which you are aware. Finally, if you father died by any means other than old age, you should be prepared to relate the circumstances to the attorney.

POD's can only be revised or revoked by the person who initiated the action. In order to overide a POD it would have to be proven that it was fraudulent. For example, the person was legally incompetent at the time it was made. POD accounts are sometimes "frozen" if there is estate tax owed.

to the parents they are blood related to, or adopted, otherwise they must make them an heir by including them in their will.

No. You must be a court appointed fiduciary.

It will depend on the specific trust. Many have a clause or two about when the trust can be closed.

A person who dies without a will is said to have died "intestate". Most locations have legal provisions specifying the proper distribution of the assets of those dying intestate, anyone who believes they have a legal right to a portion of the estate based on those provisions can file a claim.

No, neither a holographic will or codicil should be notarized, have anyone's signature other than the testator, and can not have any mechanical printed parts.

No. If the person who owned the land granted a life estate and conveyed the fee to the remaindermen then that person has transferred all her interest in the property. She no longer owns it.