Estates

There is no single repository where all trust funds are registered. You would need to know the name of the grantor to get started. You should begin by asking the person who provided this vague hint of a benefactor more questions. Where did they hear of the trust? What is the name of the trust? Is it a family trust or some type of charitable trust for which you are eligible? Who funded the trust? Why are you a beneficiary?

You could try to research family probates of affluent antecedents or those who never married or never had children of their own. Perhaps a trust was set forth in a will that was probated.

You shouldn't give out that advice at all. A trust must be drafted by an expert in trust law, state and federal tax law and estate planning. A trust where the trustor names themselves a trustee would fail as a valid trust for tax purposes. Please do not spread that advice.

An executor must be appointed by the probate court. The court will issue "Letters Testamentary" and those letters give the executor the legal authority to access the decedent's assets. You will need to provide the bank with a copy of your Letters Testamentary in order to collect the balances and close the accounts.

Yes. The Executor has full authority regarding the estate of the deceased. I have seen a few cases myself where the executor cremated the body, took the ashes to a private location, and never told anyone of that location. Obviously, however, the siblings could attempt to fight this in court.

No.

Yes, it is called co-powers of attorney or joint powers of attorney.

It is possible to execute a joint power of attorney where you can name more than one person as your agent. You must decide if the power will be shared, whereby they must act together, or if it will be independent, whereby each has full power to act independently of the other. Shared powers work best when the agents have a good relationship and compliment each other. You can also split the authority where each has power over a certain aspect of your affairs. Independent agents work well when each has particular skills. Whatever scheme you choose should be discussed with your proposed agents and with your attorney and should be clearly set forth in the power of attorney document.

A POA grants sweeping powers and should be drafted by an attorney. Your agent(s) will have complete access to your assets and will need to be capable of keeping a good record of their actions, especially of all the money coming in and all the money going out. They must be trustworthy, organized, intelligent, reliable and act in a professional manner where your finances and property are concerned.

Generally the beneficiary must wait until the statutory period for filing claims by a creditor has passed and the expenses of probate have been paid. The period for filing claims varies from state to state. You should feel free to ask the executor for periodic updates regarding the probate process. You can also visit the court and ask to review the file. That way you can see for yourself if the case is proceeding with expediency.

Yes, you can do that. Since you are the joint holder of the bank accounts of your mother and father, you can very well withdraw funds from the account. However it is better to provide your parents' death certificate to the bank and convert them into single holding accounts because your parents are deceased and they can no longer use the accounts.

A probate procedure is required when the decedent owned any property in their sole capacity.

2.5% $ 150,000.00

You haven't added any details so I must make an educated guess as to why that situation would occur. It would make sense if you are calling too frequently and with unnecessary questions. The probate process generally runs along at its own speed and follows an extremely predictable pattern. Part of an attorneys usual representation of an estate is not fielding a high volume of questions from the beneficiaries. The executor has the authority to settle the estate once they have been appointed by the court and as long as they are progressing with as much expediency as the court process allows then you should direct your questions to the executor. However, you must listen to the answer and be patient as long as the executor is performing her tasks properly.

If you have a legitimate concern that the estate is not being handled properly then you can file a motion with the court to have the executor removed and a successor appointed. You can even hire your own attorney to represent the estate. However, in order to be successful, you will need compelling evidence.

No. The child must be a minimum age specified by the state code. Some states allow married minors and military to make wills on their own.m In Texas its age 18 tomake awill.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the policy, the outstanding balance of the policy loan (plus accrued loan interest, the rate of which will be stated in the policy) will be deducted from the death benefit. The balance of the death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary.

You can see the answer to this if you imagine an amount of debt to be the whole estate. That is one heir is holding all the assets.

If the debt wasn't repaid first, before division, the other heir would get nothing at all.

The estate is the total after all debts have been repaid.

So you add the value of the debt to the residual estate. Give half of the result to the one with no debts.

This has the same effect as the debtor repaying a sum equal to half his debt to the non-debtor, and then dividing the existing estate by 2.

A life estate must be released by the life tenant in writing and notarized. The release should clearly state the life tenant intends to release all right, title and interest in the subject property, namely, a life estate granted by ________ on _________. The release should clearly state how the life estate was acquired. In most cases a quitclaim deed form could be used. The release must be recorded in the land records to clear the title.

As always when dealing with real property, you should consult with an attorney to make certain the release is properly executed.

In the Unites States, generally, yes.

You should ask the attorney who is handling the estate. If it is a small estate there may not be any tax consequences either way.

You should send a written request for an accounting to the trustee. Make certain your letter is direct, polite and business-like since you may need it for evidence later. Ask that the accounting be provided with a certain time period such as 60 days. It should be signed by all the beneficiaries, if possible. You should send your request by certified mail and keep a copy of the letter with the green card. If your request is ignored then you can file a complaint with the local court. At that point you may want to consult with an attorney.

Any answer to this question would have two conditions the first being the jurisdiction under which the policy operated. The second condition would be the form in which the insurance payout was proposed it could be either paid direct to the beneficiary or to the estate of the deceased. The important point being why would you want to go about the insurance payout in this manner?

Depending on the jurisdiction, the executors might be liable. I would urge legal advice.

The executor's duty is to apply the deceased's assets, to the extent that it is possible towards meeting the deceased's liabilities. In the even of insufficient funds, after funeral and testamentary expenses - typically costs incurred post mortem, the outstanding bills are paid pro rata. The heirs, especially dependent spouses and children would get nothing.

Effective estate planning would reduce the possibility of dependents being left high and dry.

First remember that an executor has no power or authority until they have been appointed by the probate court. Once appointed they must file an inventory of the decedent's assets with the court. Eventually they must also file an account to notify the court of the disposition of all the assets reported in the inventory. The final account will show the costs of the administration of the estate, payment of all the debts and payment of all legacies.

Once a will has been filed for probate it becomes a public record. The heirs can visit the court at any time and request to see the case file and thereby monitor the activity of the executor. Everything the executor has filed will be in that case file and you can request copies of any document. The executor cannot keep secrets from the beneficiaries. A secretive executor sends up a red flag and they should be monitored closely. They can be reported to the court for mishandling the estate and they can be removed and replaced.

The beneficiaries have the right to know if the estate was handled properly, that all the filings in the probate file are accurate and no property is wasted or unaccounted for.