Wills

The executor does not have to sign the will. They don't even have to know there is one or that they are the executor.

Estate lawyers handle estates. An estate is what is left when someone dies. It contains all of the assets and debts of the deceased. The estate lawyer will assist the executor in fulfilling their duties and insure the estate gets settled.

You need to put the inheritance into a trust account--If you have children put the kids on the account.

That is a very touchy issue.

Whomever is issued the letters of authority from the probate court. It could be either way.

Reading of the Will, is usually taken care of by the executor of the state, also sometimes known as the administrator. An actual "Reading of the Will", is usually not done as one would see on television. The executor, in most states, must file with the probate court in the county of the deceased. The executor is responsible for gathering the assets, notifying creditors, and potential creditors through an ad placed in the newspaper of the county of the deceased. He/she is also responsible for contacting any named beneficiaries in the will. Once all assets and claims against the estate are satisfied, the remaining estate can be distributed to beneficiaries named in the will. The county courts are normally there to oversee that the terms of the will are carried out. Once the will has been submitted to the probate court, it becomes public information. Once can request to see this by going to the courthouse which handles probate in the deceased persons county of residence. There may be a small fee for the retrieval of this record.

If there are no stipulations in the will as to what should be done in the event one of the beneficiaries should die, then the state probate succession laws apply. The executor should contact the probate court for instructions as to the manner in which the deceased beneficiary's share of the estate is to be distributed.

Generally a will would be filed wherever the decedent last lived. However, if the decedent owned real property in any other jurisdictions (states) the will would also need to be filed in the probate court where the land is located in order to vest title to that land in the heirs. In Massachusetts that would be a Petition For Allowance of a Foreign Will.

In answer to Nicks question, This is a serious issue. It does not fall along the lines of vanishing premium which is generally when the dividends (which are not guaranteed) are used to pay off the annual premium. This can happen and is legit altho many policies were sold that way and poliucy holders were not adivised that it is not guaranteed.

You fell victim to Churning which is in part using and existing policies cash values to purchase another policy or using an existing policies dividends to pay for another policy. The latter which is not as traumatic as the first but still not a good business practice.

There were a number of larger insurance companies who made a general practice of churning business and many were involved in class action law suits. You are probably a party to this and should have received notice at the time. I do not know if you still have any recourse or not. Pru, Met and John Hancock are a few of the more prominant offenders. Best of Luck!

Here's are some tips:

First, check out WWW.POLICYLOCATOR.COM. They have a large database of insurance applicants available to the public and the cost is relatively cheap considering the value of what they might uncover. You will need to provide a death certificate and a notarized application - probably a good thing from a privacy perspective.

If that doesn't work try:

If the house and car were insured, start with the local agents who sold those policies. Insurance companies usually keep track of customer names and Social Security numbers.

If the policy was active, a premium notice eventually will come in the mail. Look for cancelled insurance checks.

Private firms specialize in finding lost life insurance for a fee. Search the Internet for "Life Benefits Search" or "Lost Life Insurance Finder."

Try this POLICY LOCATOR service from e-Services.

Introducing Policy Locator Service from e-Services Corporation

The quick, easy, cost effective way to help locate lost life insurance policies that may have been owned by a deceased spouse or family member. If you are an executor, a legally defined personal representative or next-of-kin, Policy Locator can maximize your opportunity to discover life insurance benefits you may not have realized existed.

The decedent's name is searched against our Policy Locator database.

It contains over 110 million records representing inquiries submitted on individually underwritten life insurance applications processed during the last nine years.

The data is collected by MIB, an insurance trade association who operates the industry's largest fraud detection service used by virtually every North American carrier in the underwriting of life insurance applications.

Application activity often leads to policies - matches against this database are immediately identified and returned to you. Policy Locator provides an efficient and effective alternative to labor intensive manual searches. Our extensive historical archives can trace paths from merged and acquired companies, revealing the identity of the newly named parent. And our industry-leading search technology produces the best possible results.

For $75 per search, you can put the industry's most powerful policy locating resource to work for you.

As an added value, we'll send along our "Policy Locator Research Primer" which provides you with an extensive list of additional due diligence hints and tips.

It Happens Every Day

Life insurance is often purchased to protect against loss of income, but policyholders commonly fail to inform the beneficiary(s) of the policy's existence. As a result, many policies go unclaimed based on long dormancy periods or lack of awareness. Insurance companies would like to distribute what is rightfully due, but the responsibility to claim benefits lies with the survivors. It is estimated that over $1 billion of insurance proceeds currently could be claimed by beneficiaries from North American insurance companies..

For more information see www.SteveShorr.com/life.htm

Check the bank account statements for egular withdrawls... it may be a few years back for 20 year pay policies. Do follow up from there. Check with family friends, sometime the owner might have discussed it with them.

Call the suspect companies and ask.

Check www.SteveShorr.com/life.htm and there are links to several articles on this question and the MIB locator there.

Things may have changed since I worked in insurance (1997-1998), but generally speaking the existence of an insurance policy could only be confirmed to the insured, the policy owner, or a beneficiary, or someone with power of attorney for one of them.

Yes, if you have the persons info and know what company he may have been insured with, you can call the insurance company claims department and ask. They will only tell you if he was insured and nothing more without evidence that you are privvy to that info. Also, call his insurance agent and ask.

Try the suggestions at these links

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourlife/P35421.asp

http://www.mib.com/html/lost-life-insurance.html

http://www.iii.org/individuals/life/help/locatelost/

www.SteveShorr.com/life.htm

There is no database that will give you that information. The only way to know is the ask the insurance agent or to find a copy of a policy or billing statement in the deceadants records.

Check with The Center for Life Insurance Disputes.

That is one of their duties, particularly if there are debts to be resolved. The court must approve the distribution and the values.

State laws vary. The executor must make certain they have the legal authority to sell the property. To sell real property in some jurisdictions, the executor must have that authority by Will or must obtain a license to sell from the court.

In certain cases- yes. The executor is entitled to a fee the amount of which is set by law. If there is not enough money in the estate to pay that fee it may have to come out of the gifts to the beneficiaries. The debts of the decedent and costs of administration must be paid before any assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries.

In certain cases- yes. The executor is entitled to a fee the amount of which is set by law. If there is not enough money in the estate to pay that fee it may have to come out of the gifts to the beneficiaries. The debts of the decedent and costs of administration must be paid before any assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries.

In certain cases- yes. The executor is entitled to a fee the amount of which is set by law. If there is not enough money in the estate to pay that fee it may have to come out of the gifts to the beneficiaries. The debts of the decedent and costs of administration must be paid before any assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries.

In certain cases- yes. The executor is entitled to a fee the amount of which is set by law. If there is not enough money in the estate to pay that fee it may have to come out of the gifts to the beneficiaries. The debts of the decedent and costs of administration must be paid before any assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries.

That is the job of the executor. The sale of assets is one of the jobs.

A beneficiary could take an executor to court. They have to have grounds to do so, such as contesting the will, or suspicion of fraud. They would be able to review the records and the court could determine things were done incorrectly. Criminal charges could be filed as well.

Yes. No one can force you to be executor, even if they name you as executor in their will. In the event the person named as executor declines, the probate court can appoint a new executor instead.

Just from my recent rxperience, in Georgia's I believe the staute of limitation is six months. I say this because that's how long I required to run a probate ad in the local papers.

Yes. For clarification, the person who is owed the money in a mortgage transaction is the mortgagee and the mortgagee owns the mortgage. If the mortgagee dies the mortgage is included in their estate as personal property. The mortgagee can make provisions in their will regarding a mortgage they own. The balance on the debt due can be inherited by their heirs or the mortgagee can forgive the mortgage in their will. If there is no will then all the rights under the mortgage pass to the heirs at law under the state laws of intestacy when the decedent's estate is probated.

Yes. For clarification, the person who is owed the money in a mortgage transaction is the mortgagee and the mortgagee owns the mortgage. If the mortgagee dies the mortgage is included in their estate as personal property. The mortgagee can make provisions in their will regarding a mortgage they own. The balance on the debt due can be inherited by their heirs or the mortgagee can forgive the mortgage in their will. If there is no will then all the rights under the mortgage pass to the heirs at law under the state laws of intestacy when the decedent's estate is probated.

Yes. For clarification, the person who is owed the money in a mortgage transaction is the mortgagee and the mortgagee owns the mortgage. If the mortgagee dies the mortgage is included in their estate as personal property. The mortgagee can make provisions in their will regarding a mortgage they own. The balance on the debt due can be inherited by their heirs or the mortgagee can forgive the mortgage in their will. If there is no will then all the rights under the mortgage pass to the heirs at law under the state laws of intestacy when the decedent's estate is probated.

Yes. For clarification, the person who is owed the money in a mortgage transaction is the mortgagee and the mortgagee owns the mortgage. If the mortgagee dies the mortgage is included in their estate as personal property. The mortgagee can make provisions in their will regarding a mortgage they own. The balance on the debt due can be inherited by their heirs or the mortgagee can forgive the mortgage in their will. If there is no will then all the rights under the mortgage pass to the heirs at law under the state laws of intestacy when the decedent's estate is probated.

They want someone to execute the terms of the will. By choosing they may be able to reduce the costs to the estate.

There are only two choices here. One is to buy it from the estate for the fair market value. The other is to sell it and split the money. The other beneficiaries don't get a choice in the matter.

It varies greatly based on the size of the estate and the number of assets. A small estate can be resolved in less than 6 months. There are very large estates that are still in probate after several decades.

does usafrux have dominion of property after death of owner

Trust comes with time. It's only a foolish person who is drawn-in by a smile, loving words and promises. Take it slow and easy and get to know each other. Even the best of chameleons can't hide their true selves forever. Find someone that is fun to be with. Is good to you, keeps dates, gets along with your family and friends and is tentative to you, but not suffocating. Someone that likes to spend their weekends doing things with you. Takes you out to movies, clubs or simply spend some quiet time with you. If you find someone like that then take it slow and give that person a chance to prove their honesty.

Put a mechanics' lien on the vehicle, if your state law allows.

Notify the local authorities (in Georgia it would be the probate court of the county of residence of the deceased) that the person died owing you money and that you posess this car that should be part of his or her "estate."

A will is allowed as long as it meets the technical requirements of the jurisdiction where it was executed.

The court's main concern is that the will was signed and witnessed properly under state law. At this point if someone files an objection to the will then what is known as a "will contest" process will begin. A person who wants to contest the will must have a legal interest in the estate and must have a valid reason for their objection. The court will hear the claimant and issue a judgment. There are many reasons a will can be challenged but just because you think it's unfair isn't a valid reason.

Once the will is allowed the executor is appointed and must distribute the estate according to the provisions of the will after creditors have been notified of the death. The debts of the decedent must be paid before distribution can be made to the beneficiaries under the will.

In some jurisdictions a spouse or child can claim an intestate share of the estate if that would give them a greater portion than the portion provided in the will. In most jurisdictions in the United States a person cannot disinherit their surviving spouse by leaving their property to others in their will.

When there is no will the property of the decedent is distributed according to the state laws of intestacy by an Administrator who also must be appointed by the probate court.

It will depend on the will and/or the laws of the state. In most cases it must be 'reasonable' given the work being done. Some courts have said that 3% is reasonable, but cautioned that it needs to be determined on a case by case basis.

An executor, if he or she has received Letters Testamentary from the court, is responsible for being the agent of the deceased. He/she gathers the assets, pays the debts, & distributes whatever is left over.