Estates

The property is no longer vulnerable to your creditors, your heirs or your personal income taxes. After a waiting period, it cannot be used to disqualify you from entitlements. You can choose how the income will be distributed and how the property will eventually be distributed when the trust is terminated. However, you cannot get the property back. An irrevocable trust should be drafted by an expert in trust law.

Next of kin and heirs at law are his wife and children. If you want to know who inherits his property if he dies without a will you can check the laws in your state at the related question link below.

It may depend on how the will was written. In most cases the intent is that the grandchildren get the money, though it is typically put in trust with the spouse for their benefit.

The attorney-in-fact under a Power of Attorney cannot do any self-dealing whatsoever. What you suggest would be illegal. If you need a loan from the principal it should be in writing with an unrelated witness and notary signing the promissory note. In that transaction you could not sign for the principal. Your actions as a fiduciary are governed by law. You need to make certain not to act in such a way as to make yourself vulnerable to legal challenges later or accusations of self dealing.

The principal must revoke a POA in writing and deliver the revocation to the attorney in fact. A copy should be delivered to any facility where the POA had been used.

You need to check with the bank. They will want to see a copy of the death certificate and may want to close that account and reopen it in your name depending on their policies.

Yes. The testator can destroy their will at any time prior to death. If there is no will at death, the estate will be distributed according to the laws of intestacy. You can see the laws for your state at the related question link provided below.

In most cases the proceeds will be paid into the estate.

His only child would be his heir in most jurisdictions and his estate must be probated. The court will appoint a guardian for the child whose responsibility will be to protect her inheritance until she comes of age. You should consult with an attorney who can review the situation and explain the legal process in your jurisdiction. You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the related question link below.

You need to consult with an attorney in your particular jurisdiction who can review your situation and determine the provisions under the law in your jurisdiction. There is no single law for all of Australia.

Generally, a will made before the birth of additional children does not disinherit them. They would be provided with a share of the estate under the laws of intestacy since the law considers them to be forgotten, not intentionally left out. Laws vary in different jurisdictions. If the will is not allowed by the court, the surviving spouse may take up to the first $500,000 of the estate, depending on the jurisdiction, unless there are children of the decedent who are not her children. In other jurisdictions the surviving spouse shares the estate with any children of the decedent.

This is general information only and may be modified by someone who is familiar with the probate laws of Australia.

A trustor and trustee are two different entities.

A trustor is the entity that executes a Declaration of Trust that includes all the provisions that govern the trust. The trustee is the entity or person who is appointed to manage the trust property. There should be a provision in the trust that provides instructions for the appointment of a successor trustee.

They held a public auction

No one can change another person's will. The testator can make changes only if they have the legal capacity to make changes. No one can "have" another person's will changed because a legal professional knows that it cannot be done. If the daughter who is trying to change the will is the named executor the family should object to her appointment as the executor after the testator's death. Some other more trustworthy and responsible person should petition to be appointed as the executor.

The estate of the owner must be probated in order for title to the real estate to pass to the heirs, or, for an estate representative to convey legal title to any buyer.

When the estate is probated the court will appoint an Executor if there is a will or an Administrator if there is no will. The court will issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Those letters give the estate representative the authority to settle the estate according to the provisions in the will or/and the state probate laws, under the supervision of the court.

The debts of the estate must be paid before any property or proceeds from a sale can be distributed to the heirs. In the case of an Executor, the real estate can be sold only if that power was granted in the will or by a license issued by the court. An Administrator must obtain a license to sell from the court. Since the estate representative has the power and authority to sell the real estate, and the authority over the estate, there should be no question regarding how to 'collect expenses' after the sale of the property. The expenses should be deducted before the proceeds are distributed.

If the Executor or Administrator has distributed the proceeds prematurely, they must get funds back to pay the expenses or they will be personally responsible for paying those expenses due to their mishandling of the estate. Remember, the debts of the estate must, by law, be paid before any property can be distributed.

If the house was sold by the heirs after the estate had been settled in probate, the proceeds should not have been distributed by the sibling who represented the family in the sale until the expenses were deducted. The person who handled the sale will be held personally responsible for paying the expenses incurred by the sale and they may have to sue their siblings for reimbursement.

You need to review your contract to determine how and if you can get your deposit back.

A vesting assent is given by a personal representative of an estate in the UK to convey legal ownership of property that is the subject of a bequest or devised to a tenant-for-life of 'settled property'.

'Settled property' is a complex feature of UK property law. You can read more about it at the link provided below.

Next of kin, if you are not familiar with the term, just means the closest relative. If there is a surviving spouse, that is the next of kin. If there is no surviving spouse, then surviving children or surviving parents, failing that, a surviving sibling, then we go to aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Yes. In most cases the government splits the estate in half and gives half to the spouse and half to the children.

In most states the grandchildren would be the legal heirs-at-law. Succession generally goes in descending order if there children and the children of any deceased child would take under the laws of intestacy: parent, child, grandchild, etc. Siblings of the decedent would become the heirs at law only if the decedent had no wife and no children.

You can check the laws of intestacy for your state at the related question link below.

The debts of the decedent must be paid by the estate before distribution can be made. If there isn't enough cash the property must be sold to satisfy creditors. To save the real estate heirs often get together and pay any outstanding debts in order to inherit clear title to the RE. YOu should discuss it with the attorney who is handling the estate.

The estate can require that the beneficiary pay the money back. Or they may offset the amount against what they get. If there is anything left over, there shouldn't be a reason to make them pay it back.

No. You have no rights in a parent's property while they are living. An inheritance comes from the property a decedent owns at the time of death. Death makes that property 'inheritable'. There is no such thing as an inheritance from a living person.

The beneficiaries must review the provisions in the trust to determine the extent of their powers, if any.