Estates

If you have a life estate it remains a benefit to you and an encumbrance on the property until you release it in writing and record the release in the land records, or until your death. An exception would be if there was some provision in the grant or reservation that would extinguish it if you moved from tha property.

Generally the devise of the dwelling house mean the home and real property on which it stands. The contents of the house are personal property. Usually a will provides more explicit instructions for the distribution of the personal property inside the house. If not, that property may pass into the "residue" of the estate and would be shared by the heirs as intestate property. You should seek the advice of the attorney who is handling the estate. The estate must be probated if there is real property in order that the title to the real property will vest in the devisee.

You need to examine the trust instrument for any provisions that may address your question but generally the trust pays trust expenses. Those expenses should come out of the trust funds before the beneficiary is paid.

You need to review the document that created the trust is order to determine what the provision are, how the trust is managed and the powers of the trustee.

A disclaimer is a repudiation of your right to claim or possess something you inherited in an estate. See discussion page.

If the will has no language that directs how the share of a predecesed devisee will pass then in most jurisdictions it will pass to his heirs in intestate succession.

Your attorney will have the trust instrument notarized at the time of the signing.

In Texas, they must act jointly.

Why would there be one.

Term life insurance has no cash value when you surrender it...you may get a refund of premium I guess if it is surrendered before it is all used. That's just a refund.

The cost of the premiums you paid is entirely used for the protection for that period of time.

I am a descendent of Engelbertha Krupp who was the banished and disinherited daughter of Alfred and Bertha Krupp from the 400-year-old steel and munitions dynasty of Essen, Germany. I am also the author of the book titled, "The Cannon King's Daughter," and I live in the American state of New Jersey.

When co-executors cannot agree then they each need to have their own attorney (or solicitor) and then allow the attorneys to complete the proceedings. Generally, an attorney will not allow the client to impede the process unnecessarily. Generally, the attorneys will be paid by the estate so it benefits the estate for the co-executors to act reasonably and responsibly to preserve the assets that will eventually pass to the beneficiaries.

24

You go to the deed records at the county courthouse and look for the gentleman's name in the "grantor - grantee index." That should give you the location of the relevant deed. Some counties have these records online.

No, he cannot. The offices of testamentary trustee and exutor are separate and distinct from one another even if the same person is to serve as both. Compensation for a trustee comes out of the funds in the trust for work done by the trustee on behalf of the trust. If the trust is unfunded, there are no assets out of which to pay fees to the trustee. Also, if the trust is unfunded then the trustee has done nothing to earn any trustee fees. Compensation of trustees and executors is governed by state laws, so it is important to check the laws of the state of probate for the details.

If your father transfers his property to a trust that would get it out of his estate and out of reach of his heirs at his time of death. She may be seeking to disinherit your father's children.

Wills are rarely, if ever, "read" to the beneficiaries as so dramatically portrayed in movies and TV. Most if not all states simply require that the executor notify all beneficiaries named in the will and perhaps the persons who would inherit if there were no will, by mailing them a copy of it within a certain period of time. Each state may have different procedures so it is important to check the law or court rules on notice of probate. In New Jersey, the executor must within 60 days of probate send all beneficiaries named in the will and all persons who would inherit if there were no will a notice stating when the will was probated and in which court. The executor must provide copies of the will to all those who request it, but common practice is to just include it along with the notice.

inheritance

A corporate trustee is exactly what the term implies: A trustee that is a corporation rather than a person. Although it will vary from state to state depending on that state's laws, a trustee may be any type of recognized legal entity such as a person or corporation. Sometimes corporations such as banks are made trustees of large trusts to take advantage of their expertise in investing and handling assets. Such a trustee will be referred to as a corporate trustee.

Generally a life estate entitles the beneficiary to all property rights except the right to sell or otherwise transfer the fee in the property. It cannot be defeated by the conveyance of the property. If the house was sold the buyer would acquire it subject to the life estate. If the life estate holder desires to relinquish the life estate in order to sell the property then she/he may join in the deed of conveyance and the life estate will end.

It should be held in the registry of the court. If it remains there for a certain period of time (could be seven years), it escheats to the state.

If you mean the federal estate tax, the tax on $150,000 is $38,800. However, if the decedent was a citizen or resident of the U.S., the decedent has a credit of $780,800, which is the tax on the first $2,000,000 in assets. (This applies through the remainder of 2008.) As such, there would be no out of pocket tax, because the credit is greater than the tax. (The credit is not refundable, so the government doesn't pay you any of it!) Remember that assets passing to a surviving spouse who is a U.S. citizen are not taxed. Some states impose estate taxes, as well.

Per stirpes is Latin for 'by branch.' It is used in wills to indicate that testimentary gifts are to be divided by family branch, not number of individuals. It is usually done where one of the first listed beneficiaries has died and their share is to be divided between their descendants.

The Administrator of an estate is a legal term referring to a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of a deceased person who left no will. Where a person dies intestate, i.e., without a will, the court may appoint a person to settle their debts, pay any necessary taxes and funeral expenses, and distribute the remainder according to the procedure set down at law. Such a person is known as the administrator of the estate and will enjoy similar powers to those of an executor under a will. A female administrator is referred to as an administratrix.

A will must be presented to probate court for allowance. By that process the court determines that the will is valid. The only person who can change a bequest is a judge. That rarely happens and only for a very good reason. The executor of the estate must follow the provisions in the will to the letter. If for some reason the provisions cannot be carried out the executor must ask the judge for guidance.

Your trust is assumed to be valid in the state where the trust document was drafted but it may not be valid in another state. Before you transfer any property in your new state to the trust you should have the trust reviewed by an attorney who specializes in estate planning and trust law in the state where you plan to move. For example, I have seen numerous trust documents in Massachusetts that were intended to hold title to real estate and that failed under Massachusetts law. Specifically, they each named the trustor, trustee and beneficiary to be the same person. In Massachusetts, no trust would be created in that situation thus the trust would fail. Title to the property remains in the grantor. Due to the number of these trusts I have seen, most showing out of state notaries, I assume them to be valid in some jurisdictions. In legal matters you should always seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in the particular area of law that governs your issue.