Tag Archives: estate

HUSBAND DIES, DOES WIFE OWN HOUSE?

Q: Who owns the house? I co-owned a house in which my ex-husband resided. He died with my name still on the deed. Who owns that house now, me or his heirs?

A: If you were married to him at the time your name was put on the deed, it is presumed to be property held by the entireties and passes to the survivor spouse, upon death of the other spouse. I would take the deed to a local lawyer to review it. There is no legal necessity to have a new deed prepared if your deceased husband’s name is still on it, however, some surviving spouses do this.

Brother changed dad’s will

Q: My mother died 7/24/13 in PA and she and my dad have had the same wills for the past 25-30 years dividing property equally between my brother and me. My dad went to Anchorage to live with my brother after my mom’s funeral service and I asked for a copy of their will. My brother is an attorney and works for the AG office and said it was just changed 11/1/13. It leaves everything to him. My dad is 84 and on 10/4/13 went unconscious with insufficient blood supply to his brain. He recovered but is not in good mental capacity. I would not have known anything about the change of will had I not asked. I think there is deceit and undue influence. I have numerous people who would verify what my mom’s wishes were because she spoke about it a lot before her death. My mom and dad’s other will was from PA where they lived and where all the property is. We are talking about a substantial amount of property. I don’t have the money to fight him and wonder what can be done if anything.

A: You need to confirm whether mom and dad had typical husband and wife wills in which each inherits from the other. If that is the case, your dad inherited from your mother. The issue is whether your father had competency to make the will that your brother speaks of. If you wish to have the will challenged, you probably need a doctor to opine that at the time it was signed by dad he was incompetent. For example, he was on medication at the time, did he suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, etc. In PA, you would need that to prove he was incompetent at the time. Proving undue influence would require witnesses to say your brother misled, bullied, coerced, or manipulated your dad into signing. Unless you have credible witnesses to support these allegations, it would be difficult. Unfortunately, you need to hire a lawyer in Alaska. He could contact your brother, ask for a copy of the will, and try to see if he can get an opinion from your dad’s doctor as to your dad’s competency when he entered the will. This is a tough battle. If there is a large amount of money at stake, an attorney may be able to forego a retainer if he believes there is a case.

Mother is Florida resident, living in Pittsburgh. Do we need FLA or PA lawyer?

Q: My mother is 94 years old and is a Florida resident. She has been living with me here in Pittsburgh. Do we need to contact a lawyer in Florida or Pittsburgh?

A: It depends where she intends to reside. Normally, her estate will need to be opened in the state where she has established residency. Each state has law which defines residency. If she has property located in PA and FLA when she dies in PA, and she has residency in PA, you may have to hire an attorney in PA and he or she may have to open and estate in PA and ancillary estate in FLA. Many times, the PA lawyer will seek and hire a FLA lawyer to do the ancillary estate work in FLA. FLA has no state inheritance tax so there may be obvious advantages for her keeping property in FLA. I would consult with a lawyer in the state that you feel she will most likely have residence in when she dies.

Are my transactions on my mother’s credit card part of her estate debt?

Q: My mother gave me permission over the past 2 years to use her credit card and I have paid faithfully every month assuming  the debt as my responsibility. Just recently my mother passed away. I immediately contacted the card company and they said the debt can’t be transferred to my name, that it has to be turned into the estate. My family is up in arms and is now trying to get me for embezzlement, which my mom allowed me to use her card with her permission and she gave me the statement each month when it came in the mail for me to pay. Please help me with this matter. I know a time or two my mother has had the card company on the phone and told them that it was ok for them to talk with me about the card. But not sure if she actually had my name listed with the card company to us.

A: This isn’t the first time this has happened. If the creditor files a claim against the estate, the estate attorney can put them on notice that certain debts will not be honored by the estate as they were not your mother’s expenditures or your mother did not authorize them. The attorney can win this argument as long as he has proof, which you would assist him with, i.e., a statement from you, copies of all of the statements which show items that an older woman would not purchase, i.e. i tunes, designer jeans, concert tickets, etc. just for an example. If you acknowledge these debts and are capable of paying them , there should be no problem. If you cannot afford to pay them now, the credit card company is unlikely to separate them out from your mother’s debts. I am sure the credit card company wants the estate to be obligated as it is easier to be paid than suing you, I am assuming. I would tell the estate attorney where you stand .

Can Administrator deposit IRA beneficiary money into estate account?

Q: Can an estate administrator defraud a sole beneficiary of an IRA account mom left her by telling her that monies HAVE to go into the estate account. The beneficiary can prove she’s sole beneficiary of the account and can prove the administrator told her it had to go into estate. Can administrator use the “I didn’t know it didn’t need to go through estate” as a defense? Is ignorance a defense? Or, isn’t that her fiduciary responsibility as administrator to KNOW what accounts are placed in estate or not

A: Yes, she should know. If an attorney was representing the administrator, this wouldn’t have happened. I find it highly unusual that a financial company would pay out a claim to and estate when there was a beneficiary listed on the IRA. It is highly unusual. You may want to hire an attorney to inquire and/or file a petition for a court accounting.

My sister and I inherited mom’s house. Do we need to pay inheritance tax?

Q: My sister and I inherited my parent’s house and I have lived in it for the past 7 years since my mom died. We want to sell the house to a neighbor but her attorney says my sister and I must file an inheritance tax return and we will probably owe inheritance tax dating back to when my mother died. What do you think?

A: The attorney may be correct. Your parent’s home was probably jointly held by them by the entireties as is usually the case. When your father died, your mother inherited it from him by the law of entireties but was subject to the spousal inheritance tax rate of zero, so no inheritance tax was owed. Assuming you and your sister are the only children, you both inherited this house under your mother’s will or under intestate law from your mother. At the time of her death the house was most likely subject to inheritance tax which would have been due within 9 months of the date of her death. If that is the case, this tax and any interest that has accrued and possibly penalties are now owed. You should consult with an attorney to confirm this and to prepare a PA inheritance tax return using all available expenses as deductions. You will likely need to pay inheritance tax.

If I die without a will, does the state take all of my money?

Q:I have heard that if I die without a will, the government takes all of my money and property and my heirs receive nothing. Is this correct?

A: Absolutely not, but you would be surprised how many people think so. If you have a valid will at the time of your death, your property and money will pass to whom you name as heirs in the will. This is of course after all estate taxes and expenses are paid. If you die without a will, your property and money will pass according to PA laws of intestate succession, which means Pennsylvania decides what portion of your property passes between your surviving heirs. The other degree of control over your estate that you lose by not having a will is that without a will there is no named Executor and therefore, if not otherwise agreed upon by your heirs, the court decides between your surviving heirs who should be in charge of your estate. In some cases this can lead to a family feud in probate court.

Married With No Wills

Q: I am married and my wife and I do not have wills. We heard that not having wills doesn’t really matter to us as we would inherit from each other anyway under PA law. Is this true?

A: This is true if the deceased spouse and you have no surviving child or the deceased spouse has no surviving parent. When a person dies without a will, his or her probate estate passes in accordance with the laws of intestate (no will) succession. Under PA intestate law, if one spouse dies and is survived by a child (who is also the child of the surviving spouse) or a parent, any property of the deceased spouse that would pass through his or her estate will pass to his surviving spouse and a portion of it will also be shared by his surviving child, or if none, a surviving parent. If you are married and have a child or living parents, the only way to make certain that you and your wife inherit from each other is to have husband and wife joint wills prepared by an attorney.

Is IRA part of estate?

Q: Can an estate administrator defraud a sole beneficiary of an IRA account mom left her by telling her that monies HAVE to go into the estate account. The beneficiary can prove she’s sole beneficiary of the account and can prove the administrator told her it had to go into estate. Can administrator use the “I didn’t know it didn’t need to go through estate” as a defense? Is ignorance a defense? Or, isn’t that her fiduciary responsibility as administrator to KNOW what accounts are placed in estate or not??

A: Yes, she should know. If an attorney was representing the administrator, this wouldn’t have happened. I find it highly unusual that a financial company would pay out a claim to an estate when there was a beneficiary listed on the IRA. You may want to hire an attorney to inquire and/or file a petition for a court accounting.