Tag Archives: ESTATE LAW

Can an item once a gift from a deceased person be re-gifted to the deceased’s family?

Q: I have an item that was received many years ago as a gift from someone and we want to re-gift it to the deceased’s family, but by-pass the estate. The gift is currently in the hands of a New York resident, but would be gifted to a California resident. Or it could be gifted to a UK resident. (Chalfont, PA)

A: Once the deceased gave it to you, when he or she was alive, it was yours to keep. You can give it to whomever you want, even after he or she died. Unless it was “on lone” of sorts, and ownership was maintained by him and now by his estate. If I understand what you are saying, and this was a gift to you while the person who is now dead was alive, you can give to anyone with the exception of his estate. If that happened then it would be property acquired by the estate and likely be estate income.

Both witnesses on mother’s will are dead. Can I register it?

Q: Both the witnesses to my mother’s will have died. How do I prove the unregistered will is legal?

A: Wills are not filed until the person dies. The two deceased witnesses are not a problem. The law allows you to submit affidavits that the witnesses to the will are unavailable and that they recognize the signature at the end of the will to in fact be that of the testator. You can obtain these affidavits yourself and drive the probate clerk crazy and open the estate or hire a lawyer to do s

Brother forged deceased mom’s check

Q: Can I press forgery charges on behalf of my late mother? My mother died recently and we have discovered that a sibling signed my mother’s name to several checks that were drawn on my mother’s credit card. I went to the bank to which these checks were written (to pay a mortgage) and the bank told me that only my mother could press charges.

A: Yes, you would have to open an estate on behalf of your mother. The estate could then sue or prosecute the sibling as the legal party of interest. If there are sufficient assets there are other options to prosecuting. The estate attorney can advise you.

 

 

What rights do I have being next to kin?

Q: My mom passed away when I was 18 years old, in Ohio. She had no will nor was she married, making me next to kin. My grandma voluntarily said she would pay for the funeral but later said she had rights to everything because she had to get her money back. Her and I came to an agreement that she would “supervise” everything so me and my four younger siblings could separate everything equally. I have no intentions of taking everything for myself. All my mom’s assets are in a storage unit in my grandmas name. I recently found out she was taking things out while I am away in Florida. What can I do when I get back? Do I have rights to demand it back and take everything out of storage if she tries to deny me access ?

A: It sounds like there was no estate opened. If there is enough value in this property in the storage shed or other assets to fight for, you have the right to become executor of the estate. Since she had no spouse, you as child are given preference over granny. You can then be in charge of the storage shed and everything else your mother may have owned. Yes, if granny paid the funeral bill, she needs to be reimbursed from mom’s estate. You may want to consult with an attorney so he or she can check if an estate was opened, assess the value of this estate and inform you of your options. Perhaps a letter from the lawyer may be worth the fee.

 

What rights do the children of a previous marriage have if spouse dies?

Q: If you re-marry someone with grown children, can the children inherit something if he dies.  Can they inherit something even though they haven’t seen him in years, and didn’t attend the funeral?

A: If he has a will, it should spell out to whom his estate passes to. If you are a spouse and are not mentioned in the will, you can file a Spousal Election Against Will in the Register of Wills and request and seek a one-third share of certain property of the deceased person acquired during the marriage. If he has no will, the biological children will inherit a share of the estate along with the spouse. As I am not aware of all of the facts here, I strongly suggest you discuss this with a lawyer.

Is dad’s vacation house part of his estate?

Q: Dad died. His will says his vacation home should be sold and proceeds distributed evenly among four sons. Residue of estate goes to sole sister. Problem is the vacation house was sold 6 months before Dad’s death. Brothers say they should divide proceeds of sale. Sister says it is all hers? Any advice that you can offer?

A: If the house was sold before his death it is not part of the estate and the proceeds, unless gifted or assigned to someone else, should have gone to dad? If there are still proceeds in dad’s bank account from this sale, that money falls into the estate residuary and in your case goes to sister. However, I am not looking at all the facts here and you should not rely fully on this opinion. You should really let an attorney look at all of these documents to answer with certainty. In addition, since this transfer was within one-year of death, it will be subject to inheritance tax on its full value minus a $3,000.00 deduction.

Executor took six months to vacate apartment. Do we have a claim?

Q: Tenant died while living in my house. After 40 days, his son was appointed Executor of estate. The court told us they had a reasonable amount of time to get his belongs out of house. Should I be reimbursed for the 6 months (rent) it took to get my house back? Nothing was in writing.

A: Damages are normally spelled out in the rental agreement. Under common law in PA, if there is no written lease, each party needs to give 30 days’ notice, as it is a month to month lease. Although you have no written lease, taking 6 months to vacate an apartment seems excessive. You may have a claim if you notified the son/Executor to vacate and his taking so long was no fault of your own. Since there is an estate opened, you can file a written claim with the estate for your damages, which is much easier than filing a civil complaint. I would review all of the facts with a lawyer.

How can I get a copy of my Aunt’s will?

Q: My aunt died in 1982 in Adams County, PA. I have reason to believe I may have been a beneficiary of this will, Can you tell me where I could possibly obtain a copy of the will? Are they archived, in Fulton County?

A: No one usually files a will until a person dies. If your aunt owned property in her own name of a sufficient value, and she died with a will, there is a good chance the will was filed and an estate opened in Adams County. Call or contact the county Register of Wills where she died and have them run a search, if they will do that for you-there may be a fee. They can confirm if a will was filed. As far as examining the records to see if you inherited anything, you would need to hire a lawyer in that county to copy and review the file, or go there and do it yourself. The Adam’s County Courthouse is on Baltimore Street in Gettysburg. I do not want to discourage you, but if an attorney was involved, which one usually is when an estate is filed, you would have been notified unless they did not have an address for you. The attorneys are bound by state law to notify all heirs. Secondly, even if another heir or relative took your money, you may have statute of limitation problems in bringing a claim and the money may be gone. I would investigate as much as you can on your own at first.