Hello to all of you! I have not checked in for a while there was so much to do after my little aunt passed away.
Now I am deciding the next move. I honored her last wishes we drove 1200 miles to bury her ashes next to my grandmother. Now I am tying up the rest of my Aunts life, you all need to know if you already do not know how to handle any financial situation. I never ever dreamed I would have anything like this to deal with now if your loved ones have any thing at all no matter how small you may think it is get the T.O.D. PAPERS SIGNED when the person is alive!
This means transfer on death it would of saved so much time after she passed away wow what a mess, while you are taking care of Alzheimer's patient its very time consuming and difficult all you think about is doctor appointments and their care all you want is to be sure their health and comfort is taken care of night and day its all about health care diapers, medicines, nurses, cna, bathing, etc,etc,etc .....but try and take time out and speak to a professional who knows how to help you if there is even the smallest investment or life insurance policy even if you have a Will this is so important.
I have made mistakes because I was unknowledgeable, so I'll spread a little knowledge from school of hard knocks! Lol..also there is probate court I'm not sure about how that works do any of you know what these letters that we have to send to family consist of? Do you know what this ad in newspaper consists of? or how its worded? and does anyone know the order of next of kin? I sure do not know. I never ever even thought about any of this stuff, whew I wish my Dad was still alive ..
"At least in metro-Denver, we do have clinics at the courthouses staffed by attorneys who can and do give legal advice. Folks that avail themselves of competent counsel tend to do far better than those who don’t."
Call your probate department at your County Courthouse in your state.
**I think your first step should be to visit the county Probate of the deceased and walk through with them the requirements and forms needed in your situation to become an Executor of the deceased Estate; their advice and support is crucial. If you want to proceed make a follow-on appointment – get everything you need to get done to get appointed Executor for that next appointment. If you have a copy of the will (family lawyer would have a copy), are named Executor, and have a copy of the death certificate that should make it easier; it also may be easier if the value of the estate is low enough to Informally Administrate. If you are from out of state, like I was, you may need to file a Surety Bond and have a local POC available to support your request.
As the estate Executor there are special requirements/forms to give either bill collectors a chance to present a claim against the estate (unknown - newspaper postings, known - notifications to those you know are owed money) or heirs/interested parties a chance to see/challenge details in the estate process (you have to formally deliver required documents); in some states heirs may actually be able to break a will. There are also fiduciary responsibilities and forms to fill out for the probate (inventory), Estate Receipts, Social Security (death certificate and payback of last month), IRS (create EIN, Schedule CC, and Form 56), other retired pay, stocks (which are treated specially in some cases), insurance, etc..
As soon as you are Executor (with Domiciliary Letters) you need to protect the deceased estate; you should consider replacing locks, verify appropriate insurance is in place, bills are paid, stop unnecessary automated bills, etc.. You may need to look closely at medical/emergency bills for accuracy and coverage; you may have a limited time to fix a bill. Suggest that you do a video walkthrough of the estate property. **You also need to review and keep on top of all the forms that you will need to fill out and when they need to be submitted. If applicable visit family lawyer and accountant for background information.
Wisconsin probate forms applicable to my situation:
1) Application for Informal Administration (needed to know rough value of estate, medical support, interested persons (heirs/beneficiaries/fiduciary). If you are named as Executor in the will and choose not to serve you will probably have to fill out a declination form.
2) Waiver and Consents (for interested parties to fill out)
3) Notice to Creditors (newspaper publication)
4) Affidavit of Service (Probate)
5) Proof of Heirship
6) Consent to Serve
7) Statement of Informal Administration
8) Signature Bond in Estate or Trust Proceedings
9) Domiciliary Letters
10) Inventory
11) Estate Account
12) Estate Receipt (for each entity receiving items from the estate)
13) WI State Required Probates Claim Notice (related to estate payback of medical support).
14) Personal Representatives Statement to Close Estate
Good luck!
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
https://www.naela.org/findlawyer
naela@naela.org
NAELA Council of Advanced Practitioners
1577 Spring Hill Rd., Suite 310
Vienna, VA 22182
703-942-5711
naela@naela.org
Personal recommendation:
M. Carl Glatstein
Glatstein & O'Brien LLP
unless there’s a big estate, or Trust management happening, once the paperwork is completed, billed & paid for, the elder law atty is done. You really need to clearly find out if the attorney will follow over to probate court filing or instead forwards documents (if they are holding these) to probate atty.
My suggestion is to hire a probate attorney.
I have not been through this, but am reading ahead, and can tell you you will be VERY busy at first, but then you will learn to slowly go a day at a time. There are many on the forum who are REALLY BRIGHT, so if you have specific questions, both go to the search glass and type in your need such as How To Get EIN for taxes. Someone will step forward to help. The thing about an attorney to help you is that laws differ state to state and you do not want to make a mistake. Mistakes are easy to make.
Do know also that you can go to court and say you do not wish to/are not able to be executor. Someone else in family can then step forward or an administrator will be assigned. This will be costly to the estate, but may be the best for you personally.
Know also that some things pass outside of probate, such as bank accounts that have POD (pay on death), cars registered to Aunt Ann OR Daisy Mae, etc.
You can google online if your state allows you to do probate without an attorney.
Probate through an attorney cost $2000 in 2011 and I learned this was a reasonable amount. Probate takes a full year and I was not allowed to sell or disperse any items until after Probate finished.
For this I would definitely recommend a trust accountant. If you feel brave, download the IRS Form 1041 and the 1041 booklet, and start reading through it. I almost guarantee that you'll want a Trust accountant after plowing through the murky 1041 instruction booklet.
In the meantime though, it'll be easier for you when the time comes if you inventory all the assets now, and designate for your list how each is titled. Contact and account numbers help.
Variations in title transfer were a nuisance when my sister died. Secretary of State vs. insurance companies vs. state pension funds...all little entities and domains unto themselves.
The things I didn't prepare for are ones I never thought of: (a) assets that might have been given or manipulated away prior to death (pushy people taking advantage is perhaps more appropriate), (b) keys to EVERYTHING (c) location of in home safety and fireproof deposit boxes or at banks, and (d) preferred disposition methods of assets.
E.g.,(a): I found that perhaps half of what used to be in my father's workshop has disappeared. There's been no theft since he died, so whatever was taken occurred while he was alive. I have a suspicion of who pressured him to take some of these things, b/c this same person had been telling me for a few years before Dad died what he wanted. I think he already finagled the rest from my father, but Dad drew the line at some of the assets. Still, I have no idea what happened to them, and some of them are valuable, such as the scroll saw.
(b) I can't find keys to the travel trailer and have no idea where they are.
(c) I can't locate a safety deposit box with old financial papers (I don't need the data) which contained valuable personal items.
(d) Dad always donated to Salvation Army and Purple Heart, so I'm following that as they're my go-to charities. That excludes a few neighbors, acquaintances and relatives, some of whom have ALREADY told me what they would like to have.
As to 20% of an estate's value to an attorney, I've never heard and know nothing about it. I will ask for help when I need it, but it will be one of the firms for which I worked years ago, and at an hourly rate. There's no doubt it could be expensive, but it would only be for issues that I can't resolve.
Frankly, I wouldn't want to travel the trust management road alone, w/o either a trust accountant or a trust attorney.
One thing you might not be prepared for is the exorbitant rate of insurance for a vacant house. But it's necessary. It wouldn't hurt to explore this with your insurance agent. I've been told that basically there are only two (or was it one? I can't remember) companies that insure vacant houses. And that does NOT include water damage. But if the house will be sold shortly, you may be able to avoid this.
One of the first winter issues I faced was winterizing the pipes. I couldn't tell whether or not there were sillcocks on the faucets, outdoors and through the space between the exterior wall and interior wall. So I bought antifreeze sleeves, stuffed them with something warm (I don't remember what), drained the pipes but made sure to dash out to Dad's and check everything when the Polar Vortex hit.
If the house is shortly to be sold though, frozen pipes might not be an issue.
I have some experience in other areas you've mentioned, but am expecting the temps to plunge tonight and need to get some prep work done outside. Feel free to post again or PM me if I can help.
I thank goodness for the stuff you folks on the forum KNOW, and for Cali who always reminds me to know that it might not hold true where I PERSONALLY am, so to check with experts. I treasure some of the folks on this forum and their great advice, but most of all for talking me down off the ceiling when I end up stuck there.
I'm going to pick up after Igloo's post, on the very first issue of whether or not there's a Will or Trust. A Trust isn't necessary except under certain circumstances, but if there's no Will, the issue of (a) who manages the estate and (b) who inherits the assets are primary issues that need to be addressed before any disposition of assets can be made.
If (a), and if your aunt was a resident of Illinois, its statutes govern who inherits. This is a pretty good and thorough site for providing information on intestacy:
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/intestate-succession-illinois.html.
I would start here as the first big step. It will determine and help guide you to either handle the Estate yourself or turn it over to one of the relatives as listed in order of priority.
It is all so daunting, and to me it is the stuff that keeps me awake at night. My story of the Towed demolished Truck of his has gone on now since last February, and is a story in and all of its own. That file is titled "Toyota Debacle". It's an inch thick.
Every time I get pushed my partner peels me off the ceiling. He tells me "it's only numbers. No one is going to jail you. No one wants to pay for your food and medical until you die." And I land down briefly on earth.
I will say this. I am LEARNING. The hard way.
Lorraine, I can't imagine all you will learn on this journey and I hope you will keep us posted.
Igloo, thanks for all the info you always give here, and I have to tell you you have calmed me a few times already.
Good luck, Lorraine and please stick around and keep us posted on EVERYTHING you learn. The help on the forum keep my head above the water.
if yes, then you or your probate atty, then file the will in PC. Then you in person appear in probate court (PC) to be named Executor and you get “Letters Testamentary”. LT have your name on them & state your authority to do the whatevers for Auntie estate. You kinda need a dz or so original LT as most entities will NOT accept copies. LT will state the type of administration you are under as Executor- like dependent or independent administration. I’ve been both types & they are quite different creatures.
The next steps, well What you need to do to settle the estate to me totally depends on how much & what kind of assets Auntie had & what kinda debt gets filed against her Estate. Now can you DIY this??? ... maybe if your comfortable in a courthouse and kinda understand the filing process and Auntie ONLY had a single fully paid up home &/or car that her will states who they are to go to AND there’s no claims (debts) against her estate.
the claims part is tied to the NOC - Notice to Creditors- this is kinda an ad that’s placed in a paper of record for the county that she died in and reads that probate has been opened & if you have a debt against auntie you have to file it either to your attorney or you as Executor. NOC has a very specific format & # of runs that MUST be adhered to.
If no will, then it’s different path as you have to prove to the state & PC that you are a lineal heir. This path imo you cannot ever DIY. You have to have a PC atty as they have to do a call out to try to find all heirs. If Auntie or her late hubs were married beyond thier marriage, any family from all marriages have to have some sort of attempt to find or contact. & if it’s nieces & nephews who would be heirs all those need to be contacted. Really It’s not a DIY. There are probate attys who do nothing but lineal work. It’s not expensive but very precise & the atty like have standing in several counties & online access to various courthouses and newspapers and do filings via on-line portals.
so is there a valid will?
are you clearly named to be Executor in the will?
Or is it a no will situation?
Also, Are you a resident of Aunties state? You mention 1200 miles drive to auntie. If your not in her state, you may flat just need a probate atty if her estate has any assets & claims to deal with.
if auntie was on Medicaid, Medicaid has to attempt to recoup costs paid (MERP). MERP can be dealt with but it’s pretty daunting unless you’ve anticipated this and have your exemptions, exclusions at the ready and have the purse to do probate for a while imo.
You have a heart of gold! What a drive. Sorry I don’t know answers to your questions but it’s good to see you 💗