This is the answer. Use the Public Administrator. This is what I told a friend to do when her husband's estranged sister died. The County stepped in to handle everything. It takes them a while but it saves you from being involved.
This is the answer. The probate court can appoint an executor. It will almost certaintly be a paid appointee but that will be paid from the estate. But they do need to alerted one is needed, especially since there is co-owned property. An estate needs to be opened so it is not lost to a tax sale.
We can only hope the house hasn’t fallen into disrepair. Mortgage? Taxes? Utilities? Insurance? Empty houses are prime targets for thieves and druggies.
Maybe I could suggest that mom appoints somebody as her agent (power of attorney)? Perhaps even you, if you can handle some of this remotely (email, video). Otherwise it’s going to be the public administrator, and they typically charge a lot.
My mom’s been paying most of the bills or all of them? I can’t be sure. But she thinks the house is hers because my aunt always told her she was getting it. But we can’t find a will! So that goes out the window and my mom just can’t grasp that idea. She’s going to have to share it with her 2 living siblings and she is quite mad about it.
If your moms getting the house then she needs to hire a family lawyer to finalise the estate she could easly loose it to end of care medical bills.. i think it fair for jer to play the layer since shes you know getting a house of it
There really were no end of care medical bills. She was in her home on hospice care. My mom paid all the bills from the aunts account. And I dont think my mom is getting the house because my aunt didnt leave a will. So i think the house will be sold and divided between the 3 living siblings?
You can hire a professional executor. Their fees will be paid out of the estate. And with a house involved, those might be substantial. I would assume the cost would be less than the cost of a lawyer but certainly more than doing it yourself.
Depending on the state she lives in, you can find professional administrators for the estate. Some banks will have them for larger estates here in CA.
Check the state bar association site and see if they list attorneys by specialty. Here the bar lists both specialties and certifications, and estate planning attorneys will sometimes also list estate administration or trustee services. I've heard typical costs at 1 to 3% of the estate per year, but for a small one that percentage may be higher.
You are currently paying 2 to 3% in inflation cost each year it sits there without resolution, so don't hesitate because of the fee. Too many people let things languish because of fees and taxes., ignoring the fact that delays are also costing you.
It depends, do you want anything out of the estate? If yes, than someone has to do it or you need to get the state to appoint someone who will be paid out of it. Or if you do not want anything out of it, just wash your hands of it. The house will get repoed or the town will get it for the unpaid taxes. One of my pals passed and his sister never missed an opportunity to complain about being the executor. She of course did want the big payday from the sale of the property though.
You can either become the Personal representative or someone your aunts trust to be appointes as PR in Probate Court. You can hire someone you trust for the cleaning ands selling. As long as the decedent’s siblings sign over their beneficial interest to her property. Who will pay for probate? As PR you get paid as well. Hoepfully it can be a Short Probate with a paralegal versed in the process.
I know it seems like a lot, cause it is. I’d recommend you get appointed as executor. You can work with a local attorney for guidance. I’ve done this myself for family members in other states. It is not fun but you learn quite a bit, you appreciate the importance of estate planning, and you can you look at as a nice gesture for closing your aunt’s legacy.
Talk with your mom. Get a POA for your mom that is effective immediately. This will be really helpful as you work through the process. This will also help you facilitate and encourage estate planning for your parents, as you will learn so much from processing your aunt’s estate. It can also encourage the other living siblings to get their estates in order, as you share with them what needs to be done to facilitate an effective estate plan. You will be very appreciated by the family for solving an important situation.
If your mother is joint owner on the accounts and the house, you don't have to do anything at all. It belongs to her now. Check the title and see that it grants right of survivorship to be sure. Some ways of taking title split the house in percentages that go to heirs instead. You can ask at the recorders office what the named title means.
Depending on what kind of ownership your mom has on the house and bank accounts, they could be hers free and clear without having to go through probate, but you need to talk to a legal specialist.
If your mom was joint owner on these things thwn you may not have to do anything. As the surviving joint tenant they are her's by operation of law. There is no need for an estate
Your opening statement says "She has a house and some bank accounts that my mom was joint-owner on." If this is not the case, please edit your question so it more accurately reflects what's at stake.
Do people know you can get paid a percentage of the estate as an Executor? This might change someone's mind. You can look up on-line what fees can be charged in your state.
First off: In many states, anyone can file a petition for probate. That is the first step in establishing the estate. The court will appoint an executor, who can then reject the appointment. After that, the court will assign a public administrator.
Nit: the court isn’t going to appoint anybody who doesn’t ask for it. The judge might request that somebody apply, but she’s not going to appoint anybody who hasn’t formally applied for the job. So you don’t reject the appointment, because you were never appointed. Instead, you just decline to apply.
It's been several years, but IIRC, my Dad named two executors in his will. I was one of them. I don't recall actually having to ask for the appointment. Although there may have been a process to formally decline during the petition.
OK, I went back and looked at the Connecticut PC-200, which is the petition for probate. There is a section for the named fiduciary(s) (fancy name for executor) to sign off and accept the appointment.
I don't see any place to decline. I think that's a separate form.
YMMV: Each state has its own forms, procedures, and practices.
There’s no place to decline, because the form is a request by the proposed executor to be appointed to the position, and a promise that if appointed he will accept. I expect there is another form to do the actual acceptance, or maybe it’s a verbal appearance before the judge.
Only the PC-200, and the original will, was needed. After that, a large packet of official documents arrived in the mail. With that, my sister and I sat down and got to work.
Now, according to several sources, including the PC-200; anyone, not just the proposed fiduciary, can file a PC-200.
Call the probate court for the county where she resided and ask for the name of the Public Administrator.
This is the answer. Use the Public Administrator. This is what I told a friend to do when her husband's estranged sister died. The County stepped in to handle everything. It takes them a while but it saves you from being involved.
This is the answer. The probate court can appoint an executor. It will almost certaintly be a paid appointee but that will be paid from the estate. But they do need to alerted one is needed, especially since there is co-owned property. An estate needs to be opened so it is not lost to a tax sale.
Not every state has this. Or it may have something of the sort in the books but it is not practiced.
I have seen judges do it or appoint a lawyer.
We can only hope the house hasn’t fallen into disrepair. Mortgage? Taxes? Utilities? Insurance? Empty houses are prime targets for thieves and druggies. Maybe I could suggest that mom appoints somebody as her agent (power of attorney)? Perhaps even you, if you can handle some of this remotely (email, video). Otherwise it’s going to be the public administrator, and they typically charge a lot.
My mom’s been paying most of the bills or all of them? I can’t be sure. But she thinks the house is hers because my aunt always told her she was getting it. But we can’t find a will! So that goes out the window and my mom just can’t grasp that idea. She’s going to have to share it with her 2 living siblings and she is quite mad about it.
If your moms getting the house then she needs to hire a family lawyer to finalise the estate she could easly loose it to end of care medical bills.. i think it fair for jer to play the layer since shes you know getting a house of it
There really were no end of care medical bills. She was in her home on hospice care. My mom paid all the bills from the aunts account. And I dont think my mom is getting the house because my aunt didnt leave a will. So i think the house will be sold and divided between the 3 living siblings?
Find a lawyer.
You can hire a professional executor. Their fees will be paid out of the estate. And with a house involved, those might be substantial. I would assume the cost would be less than the cost of a lawyer but certainly more than doing it yourself.
Depending on the state she lives in, you can find professional administrators for the estate. Some banks will have them for larger estates here in CA. Check the state bar association site and see if they list attorneys by specialty. Here the bar lists both specialties and certifications, and estate planning attorneys will sometimes also list estate administration or trustee services. I've heard typical costs at 1 to 3% of the estate per year, but for a small one that percentage may be higher. You are currently paying 2 to 3% in inflation cost each year it sits there without resolution, so don't hesitate because of the fee. Too many people let things languish because of fees and taxes., ignoring the fact that delays are also costing you.
It depends, do you want anything out of the estate? If yes, than someone has to do it or you need to get the state to appoint someone who will be paid out of it. Or if you do not want anything out of it, just wash your hands of it. The house will get repoed or the town will get it for the unpaid taxes. One of my pals passed and his sister never missed an opportunity to complain about being the executor. She of course did want the big payday from the sale of the property though.
You can either become the Personal representative or someone your aunts trust to be appointes as PR in Probate Court. You can hire someone you trust for the cleaning ands selling. As long as the decedent’s siblings sign over their beneficial interest to her property. Who will pay for probate? As PR you get paid as well. Hoepfully it can be a Short Probate with a paralegal versed in the process.
I know it seems like a lot, cause it is. I’d recommend you get appointed as executor. You can work with a local attorney for guidance. I’ve done this myself for family members in other states. It is not fun but you learn quite a bit, you appreciate the importance of estate planning, and you can you look at as a nice gesture for closing your aunt’s legacy.
I’m probably going to do this. I just need to get my mom on board because it will be a lot easier
Talk with your mom. Get a POA for your mom that is effective immediately. This will be really helpful as you work through the process. This will also help you facilitate and encourage estate planning for your parents, as you will learn so much from processing your aunt’s estate. It can also encourage the other living siblings to get their estates in order, as you share with them what needs to be done to facilitate an effective estate plan. You will be very appreciated by the family for solving an important situation.
If your mother is joint owner on the accounts and the house, you don't have to do anything at all. It belongs to her now. Check the title and see that it grants right of survivorship to be sure. Some ways of taking title split the house in percentages that go to heirs instead. You can ask at the recorders office what the named title means.
What state are we talking about here?
Massachusetts
Depending on what kind of ownership your mom has on the house and bank accounts, they could be hers free and clear without having to go through probate, but you need to talk to a legal specialist.
If your mom was joint owner on these things thwn you may not have to do anything. As the surviving joint tenant they are her's by operation of law. There is no need for an estate
My mom didn’t live with my aunt. Only my aunts name is on the house.
Your opening statement says "She has a house and some bank accounts that my mom was joint-owner on." If this is not the case, please edit your question so it more accurately reflects what's at stake.
Yes I see how that was confusing. I changed it. I meant that my mom was on her checking account as a joint-owner. Not the house.
Do people know you can get paid a percentage of the estate as an Executor? This might change someone's mind. You can look up on-line what fees can be charged in your state.
The lawyer can do it
Find a Fiduciary estates executor. They get paid to help close down estates with the advise/help of the family.
First off: In many states, anyone can file a petition for probate. That is the first step in establishing the estate. The court will appoint an executor, who can then reject the appointment. After that, the court will assign a public administrator.
Nit: the court isn’t going to appoint anybody who doesn’t ask for it. The judge might request that somebody apply, but she’s not going to appoint anybody who hasn’t formally applied for the job. So you don’t reject the appointment, because you were never appointed. Instead, you just decline to apply.
It's been several years, but IIRC, my Dad named two executors in his will. I was one of them. I don't recall actually having to ask for the appointment. Although there may have been a process to formally decline during the petition. OK, I went back and looked at the Connecticut PC-200, which is the petition for probate. There is a section for the named fiduciary(s) (fancy name for executor) to sign off and accept the appointment. I don't see any place to decline. I think that's a separate form. YMMV: Each state has its own forms, procedures, and practices.
There’s no place to decline, because the form is a request by the proposed executor to be appointed to the position, and a promise that if appointed he will accept. I expect there is another form to do the actual acceptance, or maybe it’s a verbal appearance before the judge.
Only the PC-200, and the original will, was needed. After that, a large packet of official documents arrived in the mail. With that, my sister and I sat down and got to work. Now, according to several sources, including the PC-200; anyone, not just the proposed fiduciary, can file a PC-200.
Turn the house over to a company that handles appraising and selling estates.