Tag Archives: ESTATE LAW

Why am I receiving funds from my mother’s life insurance when my sister should get everything?

Q: My sister is the executor and per the will she is to receive everything yet my name is listed as a 50-50 beneficiary on her retirement and life insurance. Debt on estate is about 100k. There is 160k in IRA account which I signed over my half to my sister. There is10k in life insurance of which I was sent 5k. My sister is asking for $1500 of that for funeral expenses. We are a month and a half into this and now there apparently was another retirement account that I am listed as the sole beneficiary of $37k. Why am I receiving these funds and why aren’t they going to the estate and then my sister as heir? Below is the distribution part of the will. A) I give such items of my tangible personal property as are designated in a separate writing signed by me which refers to this will to the individual (s) named therein who survive me. B) I give the balance of my tangible personal property (or all such tangible property if no writing exists) to my daughter (my sister) if she survives me. If my daughter fails to survive me I give the balance of my tangible personal property to my son (me), if he survives me. (Glenshaw, PA)

A: Normally, if an attorney was handling this estate, your questions would be answered. Generally, some assets such as insurance policies, IRA’s, annuities, etc., have beneficiaries. Upon the death of the owner, the asset passes directly to the named beneficiary. The asset does not go into nor is it part of the estate. These types of assets are considered “non-probate”, as opposed to probate. An example of a “probate” asset would be something held in the decedent’s name at death, with no listed beneficiary. For example, a house with the decedent named on the deed. A car with the decedent named on the title. Beware, you may owe inheritance tax on some of these “non-probate” assets that you are inheriting. If you don’t have an attorney, and your sister is the brains behind this, I strongly suggest that you hire one.

What can bank do to vehicle or estate if auto loan in mom’s name?

Q: My mother passed and my auto loan is in her name. I cannot finance the vehicle myself as there are too many miles and it is way upside down. I have kept current with the payments so far. The only funds from the estate were in a retirement account and insurance. There is a house which my sister has always lived with my mother but it still has a mortgage. She is also executor. Her plan is to pay off the house with the retirement money and sell it. Can the bank repossess the vehicle? Can they go after either of us or the estate to recoup the balance? What if I turn the vehicle in to the bank? I will receive enough insurance to pay the car off. However, I don’t want to spend 10k on a car worth 3k if I don’t have to but I don’t want the estate to have to pay for the balance of it either.

A: Good question.  If the car is titled in mom’s name, as is the loan, it could be repossessed if they will not refinance you. It would be considered an estate debt. If the car is in your name, but the loan is in mother’s name, that would be unusual. Voluntary relinquishment of a vehicle to avoid repossession may be an option. You can call the lender and ask. As far as the mortgage on the house and your sister’s plans to pay it off with estate money, more information is needed to be known if that is a viable alternative. You should review the estate with an attorney to determine the extent of the debts, expenses, amount of assets, and potential inheritance tax and income tax, just to mention a few.

How can I locate a trust?

Q: My niece’s mother died in 2008 and supposedly there is a trust for her once she reaches age 27. Her dad just died this past October, and her stepmother is of no help to her. Also, she no longer lives in Michigan where her parents are from. Is there anything I can do to track it down to help her? Thank you.

A: There is no central registration or central repository where these are filed. IF this trust instrument was filed, it would likely be filed in the jurisdiction where the trustor/settlor had residency. You can start by searching the probate court in the County Department of Court Records. Often, real estate is part of a trust. Therefore, you could also check the County Recorder’s office (where deeds are filed) to see if a deed was filed in the name of the trust. Also, sometimes trust notices are advertised if the trust instrument was filed and real estate transfers are listed in legal newspapers and papers of general circulation in the county with jurisdiction. You could call the legal journal and main newspaper for that county and see if they have an archival data base. If it cannot be located, you might try to call lawyers in the area to see if any of them drafted the trust. I get calls occasionally from people in search of a lawyer who may have drafted a loved one’s will. It might be hard to find but you may get lucky with just a few calls.

 

Can I move into my deceased mother’s home since I paid some bills?

Q: My mother passed away the 26th of January and I have been helping her pay her bills. She has a roommate that is being a pain and is telling me I’m not allowed to move in. I have paperwork saying that I have been helping her and so forth. Her roommate is not on the lease and wasn’t helping. Do I have a leg to stand on or do I have to go to civil court?

A: If you are not on the lease, I do not believe you have a legal right to move in. Helping to pay her bills unfortunately will not give you any rights to be a tenant. If the roommate is not on the lease, then he or she is likely to be on a month to month lease. Unless the roommate agreed to pay the bills that you paid, I do not thing there are grounds to sue the roommate.

Shouldn’t the equity go to my mother’s estate?

Q: Unbeknownst to me and my two siblings, my sister and brother-in-law who live in White Oak drove to Florida where my mom lived and moved in with her. Apparently, they drove her to another county and had her sign an “Enhanced Life Estate Deed.” The deed says they bought the house for $10. As it stands now, the equity in the house from November 10, 2011, when she signed the deed, until her death, February 2, 2017, is going to my sister. In 2009, my mom became physically and mentally weaker from “mini stroke episodes” that forced her to become more reliant on my sister. For example, my mom put her house on the market because she couldn’t keep up with the house expenses. The realtor told me whenever he had a good offer, my mom would say ” I have to talk to my daughter” and never took any of the offers. Soon after that, my brother in law and sister took over the mortgage payments and as soon as that happened my sister’s strong arm tactics were to tell me and siblings this was none of our business, and then she took over everything including my mom’s finances. She decided who visited my mom at the nursing home and who got info from the hospital about her condition. They stole the house, while my mother lived in a state nursing home.

A: There are many issues here and more information is needed to properly advise you. You need to consult with an experienced estate lawyer in the state and county where this house is located. Florida, I assume? It may be extremely helpful to support the allegation that your mother was incompetent at the time she signed the deed if you have a medical opinion. You may want to talk to her doctor or doctor’s office to see if they would support you. The main issues would be possible elder abuse, her incapacity to execute a deed and fraud.

Is my mom responsible for her credit card bill when going on Medicaid and in nursing care?

Q: Is my mother responsible for a credit card bill when she will be put into a nursing home in a couple of days? Medicaid will be taking her small SS and retirement to pay for the home. She will have absolutely no money to pay for the credit card balance. She has absolutely no assets and the card is in her name only. Can she just inform the company and let the balance go?

A: Basically. Yes, if what you are saying is correct her money will be spent down to the level permitted in her personal care account at the nursing home, under Medicaid regulations. They can sue her but won’t collect because she is indigent and her personal care account is a protected asset. They can bring a claim against her estate when she dies but their claim would be behind, Medicaid, and others. It is likely that there will be no estate when she dies. If for some reason there is money remaining when she dies, Medicaid and other priority claims take their share, for example, for taxes, administrator fees, lawyer’s fees. I would inform the credit card company of the situation and send them any paperwork if they ask. If they keep pestering you, change your phone number. Sometimes, these big credit card companies just don’t get it and spend thousands of dollars pursuing claims against people who are penniless or who have even been dead for years.

Can my sister charge 65K for caring for my father?

Q: Can a person pay themselves for care giving when the person being cared for lives full time in a care giving facility? My sister paid herself $60,000.00 as a caregiver to our father retroactively for 2011 and 2012 while our father lived with her. She had him sign a POA (revoked to herself only) in October 2010. Most of that time, he was self-sufficient and allowed to come and go as he pleased. They left a key for him outside of their house. She works full time. He has Alzheimer’s and caring for him did become harder. He was moved to a home in April 2013. She has paid herself a total of $64,000.00 for 2013, 2014 & 2015. At this point it would be my contention that she is only performing duties of a POA and not providing care giving services. How can she when he is receiving around the clock care in an Alzheimer’s facility? She is not doing very much that I can see. (Scott Township, PA)

A: You should speak with an attorney. If the POA appointed her as caretaker and authorized payment at the going rate, or if she was operating under a legal caretaker contract, then she meets the first hurdle in my opinion. She would need to justify her payment by showing a record of the hours she worked, services performed and costs paid out of her pocket to. If the POA did not authorize her caretaker services and she over billed, you can challenge this in court. It will require the services of a lawyer to examine the POA and advise you about filing for an accounting. The sooner you act, the better, as she may burn through the money and then collecting it from her may be a futile effort. Also, you can call adult services if you think father has been financially exploited. Also, here is a potential Medicaid issue here your father ever needs to qualify, which you should discuss with the attorney.

How can a lawyer file a quiet lawsuit against me over a property I sold that belonged to me?

Q: A family member gifted their home to me. We went through the whole process legally…the house was appraised; contracts were signed and a new grant deed for myself was recorded at the county recording office. Since then I have sold this home (was cash owned) and purchased a new home. The family member is now angry at me for a personal reason and is saying she wants the house back…which means the new house I bought. I received a letter from her attorney stating that she should have been on the title to the new home because I sold her home. The attorney is also saying that I am responsible for elder financial abuse because the home that was sold was hers. This sounds ridiculous! I sold the home when it belonged to me. That is my legal right. Grant deed recorded and papers signed over. She was in no part of the selling process for purchase of the new home. The attorney is threatening to file a quiet title, financial elder abuse and duress lawsuit. How is that possible? After my grandmother gifted the home to me and I received the grant deed she gave up all rights to the home I’m assuming. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: There is no easy answer for this without you sitting down with an attorney and going over all the facts and reviewing all the documents. This attorney may be alleging things that he cannot prove. I hope the prior deed to you from grandmother was done by an attorney, as the attorney would have made sure the law was complied with and this was a gift/transfer for no consideration and grandmother was of sound mind as evidenced by her notarized and witnessed signature. So, if all those measures that you stated were done, it sounds like you have protection. Again, gather all your documents and sit down with an attorney, preferably the one who handled the original transfer from grandmother to you.

Do I need both signatures?

Q: I have been living in a mobile home with my mother for the past six years. She just recently passed away and the mobile home is in both her name and her ex-husbands. He wants to pay off the mobile home and sell it. Are both their signatures needed to sign the title over? (West Mifflin, PA)

A: You need an attorney to look at their divorce papers as well as the title to the mobile home. The divorce papers can be found in the Department of Court Records in the City County Building or you may be able to access them at the Allegheny County DCR website. Many divorces end with a settlement agreement which spells out each party’s rights in regards to property. If there is no such agreement, then the answer lies in how the mobile home was titled. If it was titled as husband and wife, it would have been held by the entireties (survivorship) up until the divorce. The divorce would have severed the entireties and then the mobile home by operation of law would have been held as tenants in common. Tenants in common is a joint interest with no survivorship. Therefore, if this is the case, the ex-husband and your mother’s heirs now own it. The ex-husband needs the signature of your mother’s estate. Again, the paperwork needs to be looked at before this advice can be followed.