My mother-in-law had a trust and my husband will be seeing a lawyer this Friday. What questions should he ask?
My husband's step-mother recently passed. Her older daughter is POA with both she and my husband as executers. He hasn't seen trust yet and they will be going to the lawyer this Friday. Any suggestions as to questions/concerns he should address?
If a lot of the paper work was done ages ago & I'm assuming that they did trusts & wills intertwined as a married couple, there will need to be changes as dad is now incompetent - replacing dad could change the balance of power as to the direction of the trust. Especially if it is her $$$ that feeds the trust or other assets. Things may not be all kum-ba-ya towards dad from her blood relatives now that she is gone.
For me, I would be concerned as to whether all this pose a problem or an opportunity for dad. If legal does elder law work I'd ask about this aspect. But if legal is more probate practice, well you'll need to talk to elder law guy after hubs knows what the will & trust reads. For example, most couples have each other as their beneficiary of their life insurance; for those that have 1 in a NH and on Medicaid, this could be bad news as the $ from the life insurance now makes them ineligible for medicaid, and family will have to all sorts of spend down/ reapplication etc. But if dad is at home, he may now have additional funds for caregivers. You just need to have an idea of what $$$ probably is and what dads costs for care realistically could be fir the next few years.
Thanks for input. Unfortunately I forgot a significant detail.....my husband's father is still alive. He does have dementia though. I suspect this will change some of the advice. Sorry for the oversight.
Will your husband and daughter be seeing the Attorney or the firm that drew up the Will/Trust? If yes, the firm will have all the papers on file. The Attorney will explain everything, but don't expect to digest everything at the first sitting.
Well, the POA ended at death. The Executors need to find the Will, and the Trust papers. Read those first and then ask whatever questions flow from there. Ask who is handling the tax returns. Don't expect any quick settlement, most estate laws require a waiting period which varies from state to state. In NY it is 7 months.
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For me, I would be concerned as to whether all this pose a problem or an opportunity for dad. If legal does elder law work I'd ask about this aspect. But if legal is more probate practice, well you'll need to talk to elder law guy after hubs knows what the will & trust reads. For example, most couples have each other as their beneficiary of their life insurance; for those that have 1 in a NH and on Medicaid, this could be bad news as the $ from the life insurance now makes them ineligible for medicaid, and family will have to all sorts of spend down/ reapplication etc. But if dad is at home, he may now have additional funds for caregivers. You just need to have an idea of what $$$ probably is and what dads costs for care realistically could be fir the next few years.
Good luck with family.
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Don't expect any quick settlement, most estate laws require a waiting period which varies from state to state. In NY it is 7 months.