Estates

The fee is based on the effort and is usually an hourly rate. It is standardized in some states. The executor must show the court records and documentation to demonstrate to them that the effort is legitimate and the court must approve the amount.

It may vary depending on the state. In most cases it becomes a part of the estate. If there are enough assets to settle all the debts, she will inherit the remainder.

No. It can only be released by the life tenant in writing, voluntarily. If the life tenant doesn't want to relinquish the life estate, the heirs would need to buy them out or wait until they have died.

ASSUMING that the trust calls for an EQUAL division among the three beneficiaries: Presumably the trust itself is going to contain instructions and specify how this is to be accomplished. If not, and the trust contains more than just an equally divisible amount of cash (i.e.: real property. stocks, bonds, etc) it will have to be valued in its entirety and then divided in as equal a manner as possible. This may involve liquidating all the intangible assets - turning the entire trust into cash and THEN equally dividing the proceeds of the liquidation action.

You cannot avoid probate unless the property was owned by you and your father as joint tenants with the right of survivorship. That type of ownership provides that when one tenant dies their interest in the real estate passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant and bypasses probate. Otherwise, when a person dies owning real estate, the estate must be probated in order for title to the property to pass to the heirs legally.

Yes. If property is subject to a life estate and then it's conveyed by deed, the property remains subject to the life estate until the life tenant dies or releases their life estate in writing.

You should contact an attorney ASAP. If there is an administrator of the estate then contact the attorney who is handling the estate. You have brought forth several legal issues in your question and you need expert legal advice.

There is no specific time frame in Missouri. The estate has to be inventoried and appraised, the debts collected, taxes paid and the terms of the will meet.

At the appropriate county courthouse. There is typically a packet that can be obtained at the courthouse.

A will contest based on a forgery theory is difficult to win mainly because that theory necessarily requires that you prove some sort of conspiracy among the people involved in the making of the will. If the signature is forged, how do you account for the fact that it was signed by two witnesses and maybe had a lawyer involved and they all say the testator signed it. A forged signature theory implies that all of the witnesses were in on a conspiracy, because , if the signature is forged, then the witnesses did not see the decedent sign the will. If a lawyer was involved in the drafting and execution of the will, then the lawyer must have been in on the fraud too. Plus, as people age their handwriting changes due to age or illness. Sometimes a testator's handwriting is very different than it had been at one time. You should have very good proof of the signature forgery and come up with a plausible alternative scenario for the signing of the will. It will take very solid proof to win with that theory.

The person who wants to sell can try to sell her interest to one of the other parties or to a third party if she can find a buyer. Otherwise perhaps the property can be partitioned, that is, sold by the court. That may be difficult because any buyer would have to take the property subject to the life estate. Perhaps you could convince the life estate holder to join in the sale of the property and split the proceeds three ways.

Your father's creditors should be paid from his estate. His bank account is part of his estate. According to law the creditors get paid first. If a creditor should discover that you spent assets left by the deceased they could seek a judgment against you.

Generally, when a person has a will, then gets married, forgets to update the will and dies, the new spouse can claim a portion of the estate as if there was no will. You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the related question link below. Click on your state to determine what your share of the estate would be.

A Power of Attorney is extinguished when the principal dies. The attorney-in-fact has no power to do anything. The probate court appoints the executor or administrator for the estate.

When property is titled to only one person and the person dies, the property becomes part of the deceased estate. It then comes under the jurisdiction of probate court. The probate court takes charge of all the deceased assets and debts and distributes them in accordance with state law. If the person dies intestate (without a will) state default laws apply.

Typically the spouse is the first on the list to inherit the estate, though if there are children by a different spouse, they are likely to get a share as well.

If you divorce, most definitely not. Yes, he is eligible for your benefits if you pass away before he does BUT it applies the other way around too! You live longer, you get his SS benefits. I don't know about you but I've heard women live LONGER than men! The jokes on him!

No.

Generally, Grandma's estate must be probated in order for legal title to pass to grandson. Once the estate has been probated the records of probate will show that the title to the property has been vested in the grandson. However, if he wishes to have a deed in his name recorded in the land records that can be arranged with the attorney who represents the estate.

You can visit the court and request the forms you need and you can check online to see if the court has printable forms available at their website. You can find a website by performing an online search using the county, state + probate court.

You can visit the court and request the forms you need and you can check online to see if the court has printable forms available at their website. You can find a website by performing an online search using the county, state + probate court.

You can visit the court and request the forms you need and you can check online to see if the court has printable forms available at their website. You can find a website by performing an online search using the county, state + probate court.

You can visit the court and request the forms you need and you can check online to see if the court has printable forms available at their website. You can find a website by performing an online search using the county, state + probate court.

The court appointed executor has the responsibility and the authority to settle the estate according to the provisions in the will, the probate laws and the laws of intestacy. However, if 11 of the heirs disagree with a decision the executor has made then they should submit a motion requesting that the court hear their objections and issue a ruling on the matter.

No. As the executor of a will, your role as executor is not triggered until the party who named you executor dies. If the parent is still alive, you'd need a power of attorney (document) naming you as the power of attorney to make decisions for the parent in the event that the parent is incapacitated or incapable of making decisions on his or her own behalf.

In our state, the will is never read like you see on TV. In basic terms, a probate case is filed, an administrator appointed, and terms of the Will are carried forward if there is a Will.

No one automatically becomes an executor. The executor must be appointed by the court. The first executor will need to be removed by the court and a successor must be appointed. However, the court will do nothing until a petition is filed requesting the changes.