Probate question please!!

OP = vulture

Whew. Lots of variables here. Was there a will? A living trust? Who's the executor?

Different states have different rules regarding probate. But a lot depends on how long it takes to get court dates. You'll be much better off if you don't have to go through that process (that's what living trusts are for.)

It takes at least 5 years OP, and if you're a cunt (which you are) it takes considerably longer

hmmm...

I’m not a “vulture” but I have been dreaming of this money for many years. I’m 51 so thankfully I’ll have a few good years left to spend it!

Sorry for your loss?

r5 Apparently you don't care much, because you didn't answer any of the questions in R2.

r6 I think OP is happy for her loss

Did you murder them with 🍸Grasshoppers laced with Prestone antifreeze?

There was a will, brother is executor, we are in Atlanta.

OP you are a cunt for coming here and asking such a stupid question. Ask your fucking lawyer asshole.

Are their creditors?

If there is no living trust, you need to photocopy the will and then file the original with the county. That prevents someone from swooping in with a forged will and stealing the estate from you. Don't post a public obituary, until after the estate is settled. There are con artists who troll the obits looking to scam and steal from the family's people.

But first and foremost, you need to consult an estate attorney. He can file the will. Be prepared, to pay between 5000 and 10000 for attorneys fees to usher the estate through probate (again, if there is no living trust. )

If there is a living trust, and you're liquidating the estate and selling all the assets, you don't need an attorney. There are websites that guide you through the steps so you do things in the proper order.

Make sure you order plenty of death certificates from the funeral home. I ordered 10.

r11 he knew his lawyer would be mortified to be asked this soon, that's why he's asked here

R13 - thanks. This is the best advice I’ve received yet.

OP waiting to strike.

So your brother is the executor ?

If he meets with unsavory circumstances that result in his untimely demise, does are you the sole inheritor?

If I were your brother, I'd take out a restraining order against you, and hire a bodyguard.

R14 - and yes, attorney is long time family friend. I didn’t think it appropriate to ask “when do I get my check.” I’m just trying to finalize details on a Swiss vacation and need to make plans.

Well, OP, you seem to have no problem asking the #EsteemedLegalExperts@DL [italic] "When Do I Get My Check"

I would say, OP, that a lot depend on whether or not your brother is as much of a greedy little fuck as you.

Did you do the Coffin Dance, too?

I’m kinda actually worried about my brother (the executor) He has been shady in the past so I hope I can trust him. I would imagine everything will be transparent so it shouldn’t be a problem, but still concerned.

r21 runs in the family

It took a year and a half to get the bulk of my father's cash, but the estate took three and a half years to be final - emptied out. Don't ask me why.

Your parents obviously weren't worried about naming your brother as estate executor.

I think Mom & Dad clearly made a wise choice.

Keep a bag of oranges handy.

R12, are their creditors what?

No creditors and zero debt thank goodness. My dad was extremely frugal. I don’t even have the code to the safe where he kept thousands in cash.

Regardless of whether there was a will or not, there is still a lot of work to be done. The estate may have to have accounts set up to pay expense. Tax returns will have to be filed for both the deceased and the estate (again, depending on the situation.) I've been the administrator/executor for two deceased relatives--one who died intestate and another with a living trust. It's no fun. Fortunately I was retired at the time and didn't have to juggle work responsibilities with the estate stuff. But both relatives lived some distance away (>400 miles) so there was a lot of driving back and forth.

Once the estate’s debts have been covered, if there is cash or securities that can be sold, you brother should be able to make a distribution of enough to cover your vacation even before things are finalized. Check with estate attorney.

It took a little over a year to finally close my Dad's estate.

Yeah, I wouldn't bank on taking that trip any time soon. It took 3 years and close to 20K to close my Dad's probate case. My Dad was a wealthy guy and didn't draw up a will thinking my step-mother - who was dying - would go first and. He died suddenly, she got everything, died a few months after him and she cut all of my Dad's kids out and left everything to her kids.

Don’t let your grief get in the way of your plans OP.

You won't be getting any money anytime soon, unless your Dad had a life insurance policy. Even that can take 3 to 4 weeks at a minimum

Anyone have experience getting out of being an executor? My parents attorneys advised them to appoint their youngest child (me) as executor and second youngest as co-executor (my sister). I have ADHD and no patience for paperwork and following up on things. My sister is also a bit scatter brained. We are probably the worst possible choices. On the other hand, my oldest sister would devote herself completely to the work involved. Her husband is a lawyer. My oldest brother is a banker and could handle all the paperwork. My other brother is married to a tax accountant. Any of them would be far better choices and I suspect will be needing to help us along at every step. We are all close and my parents will is straight forward. Everything is to be divided equally among the five children.

I don’t want to admit to my parents that my sister and I are probably not up to the task.

Sorry for your loss, OP. My brother did these things immediately:

Contact the attorney and ask what to do. You don’t have to wait to do that.

You should probably take a written inventory immediately, listing everything in the estate.

Sell any mutual funds, stocks, bonds and such. Put the money in a new bank account until you can distribute it to heirs. Sometimes these accounts have beneficiaries on record. In that case, those accounts will skip the probate process and the assets will go directly as specified to the heirs, so don’t withdraw from these accounts until you can ascertain if they have heirs on record.

Arrange to get an appraisal of any real estate, priced at the time of death.

Cancel your parent’s credit cards.

Use your parent’s money for funeral expenses, including cemetery costs.

Create a spreadsheet to record everything you do that involves money. Mostly, that would be to record estate expenses, and distributions to heirs.

This doesn’t have to be years-long ordeal, if everyone is getting along, and remains so.

I don’t think there is an inheritance tax, any more.

The cost basis of real estate, and stocks and bonds is stepped-up at death. This means that any gain that your parents had accumulated in these areas is not subject to taxes on inheritance (except for very large estates, maybe). The exception to this is inheritance of a 401k or traditional IRA. Withdrawals from those are taxed when taken.

You’ll need multiple copies of the death certificate, to show the credit card or investment companies.

Your folks might have had life insurance, so look for that. Also, I have token amounts of life insurance provided by my banks and credit card companies at no cost to me. Your folks may have similar. You’ll just have to look for that.

Flip through your parent’s books. Old people hide money in them, sometimes. Particularly Bibles and dictionaries.

"I don’t even have the code to the safe where he kept thousands in cash."

You honestly think I'm going to leave the code with you, you gold digging piece of shit.

R34, I think you have to agree to being an executor at the initial probate hearing. You can just say “no”.

Also, an executor can quit at any time by sending a letter to the probation judge.

Try to use the experience as a way to strengthen familiar relationships. Though, “trust, but verify”, because inheritance brings out the worst in people.

Thanks r37. So maybe this is a conversation I can have without my parents. I don’t really want to admit I can’t handle it. I should talk to my siblings— I am sure they are thinking Mom & Dad got bad advice by their estate planner but are too kind to say anything (and know they will be doing all the work as usual!)

r34 Yes, you can resign from the job of being the executor and assign another sibling. Google it. It explains what to do. Or ask your brother in law to do it. . He probably knows what to do. It's as simple as drafting up a letter of resignation, if the estate is in a living trust. If you have to go through probate, you submit the letter of resignation to the court.

*I have never done this, but I remember reading about it when I was acting as executor for my mom's estate. But I ended up hiring a lawyer, even though my mom had a living trust, just to make sure everything was taken care of properly and becasue I didn't understand some of the questions I had to answer on transfer of ownership paperwork for real estate.

A little over a year to settle my mom's estate, which was a decent size but we had basically liquidated all of her real estate and tangible assets prior to her passing. We also had worked previously with an estate lawyer to set up a trust, etc. so that made the process a lot smoother (but we paid a pretty penny in legal fees).

I condole you. You're obviously devastated by your loss..... Jeez.

I am NOT sorry for your loss, OP.

I’m sorry for your gain, OP.

I can't wait to find out how many illegitimate siblings OP has. It's time to meet your brothers and sisters!

I need to get a copy of a probated Will for investigation claim purposes. Any suggestions on what is the best online source to use?

Thanks, Op, this thread is classic DL.

And I condole you for your loss.

Concur with the roughly one-year timeframe as a reasonable expectation for things to be settled or mostly so for cash/investments, assuming things are clean and in order and everyone acts promptly and without disputes. Life insurance payments will come first (probably in a month or so) and there are some investment times that can be distributed swiftly. Real estate and other assets may take longer. All depends of what's your father had and the jurisdictions and parties involved.

[quote]I don’t even have the code to the safe where he kept thousands in cash.

Your shady brother will hand you a stinky ziplock bag of Indian head pennies and two crisp one hundred dollar bills, "I want you to have all of this; it's everything except for some insurance papers I turned over to the lawyer. Do you want the safe itself? You can come pick it up if you do?"

Not until he's cold OP.

OP will soon be posting to this thread.

OP dont listen to all the SJW on here, I know how to handle this. Was in the same situation with my brother.

Call either if us, well talk.

Lyle and Erik Menendez

OP is licking his chops for that money.

I settled my mother's estate in a couple of weeks. She was a banker, I am an attorney. Our backgrounds helped us understand how to navigate things and make it easy for me to handle. My advice to everyone - write a will. I've seen nightmares as a result of no will being written.

Oh, people- maybe his dad was a bastard. Maybe OP was an abused child. Not everyone bursts into tears of mourning every time Daddy's name is mentioned. Grow up.

My mother (a widow) has cancer and was told recently by the Dr. that she has less than 2 years to live. When my sister and I inquire about her will, she just says vaguely that property will be "auctioned" (3 houses, two cars, etc.) and her lawyer will divide and distribute all the spoils evenly to us.

But I know things won't be that cut ' n dried and it will be a nightmare, exacerbated by the fact that she lives hundreds of miles from both of us.

My fear is that she will waste away slowly in a nursing home- perhaps years- while she is in denial and her property sits unattended to.

R53 My father had a Will and a Trust, but his Trustee and my stepmonster still stole everything from my siblings and me including a one million dollar life insurance policy.

[quote]Not everyone bursts into tears of mourning every time Daddy's name is mentioned. Grow up.

Not everyone worries about the money before the person is dead. Spoiled children do that.

OP and his brother selfie

As R55 notes, it's best not to spend one's inheritance in advance of having it it hand. The vague promises that affairs are in order are often off the mark.

[quote]Don't post a public obituary, until after the estate is settled. There are con artists who troll the obits looking to scam and steal from the family's people.

Mary! for gawds sake it may be years before the estate is settled. Of course you can post a public obit. Unless you and your brother are halfwits you shouldn't fall prey to scammers.

Otherwise the poster at r13 gives decent advice. Just not this part.

[quote]I’m not a “vulture” but I have been dreaming of this money for many years.

Based on this comment, what would you call it then?

A year?! I'll be a first time executor of my uncle's will...he lives on an island 6 hours away. My name is on his 2 bank accounts and my mom is the beneficiary of his pension. He doesn't have a car, house, or debt. He lives in an apartment without much stuff. I'm hoping to get this done in a few days when it happens. I think I can distribute all of his money immediately since my name is on accounts and I have access online/app. He already paid for his cremation.

OP waiting patiently.

If my mother has a life insurance policy on me, what happens to that policy when she dies before me?

[quote] If my mother has a life insurance policy on me, what happens to that policy when she dies before me?

Depends on if it is paid up insurance or are the premiums still being paid? If it is paid up insurance then nothing happens, if she is the beneficiary she should name a secondary beneficiary. If the insurance premiums are still being paid, if the payments stop, the insurance will lapse.

R36 wins this thread!

Yeah - even in the best, more prepared cases, the estate process can be long and tedious. I"m going through it with my brother 's estate and I think I'm hoping it will be settled by the end of this year. He died 2 years ago with no signed will.

[quote]I don’t think there is an inheritance tax, any more.

There is, indeed, a U S federal inheritance tax; however, it doesn't apply unless the estate is over 6 million dollars (12 million for joint assets of a couple). Some states have an estate tax of their own.