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Momma Died. Attorney watchouts


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Mom passed away. Mom "simplified things' by saying just divide everything 3 ways

No will. 2 other brothers who defer almost anything "official" or "business related" to me.  As of right now, there are no disputes, but that can change faster than a humingbird's heartbeat.

I have access to her bank account, with survivorship, no POD. No other assets.  Income is SSA and a pension.

Her paying of yearly taxes is questionable( don't get me started, but I need to confirm the situation.

What kind of attorney should I seek, even if it is just an hour or two to ask my questions and cross my I's dot my Ts, so shit is squared away down the road?  What kind of session do I ask for? How do avoid getting fucked on shit I don't need?
i welcome surly bullshit answers, as well; but could use some legit advice too.  Thanks.

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1 hour ago, Iceman said:

Mom passed away. Mom "simplified things' by saying just divide everything 3 ways

No will. 2 other brothers who defer almost anything "official" or "business related" to me.  As of right now, there are no disputes, but that can change faster than a humingbird's heartbeat.

I have access to her bank account, with survivorship, no POD. No other assets.  Income is SSA and a pension.

Her paying of yearly taxes is questionable( don't get me started, but I need to confirm the situation.

What kind of attorney should I seek, even if it is just an hour or two to ask my questions and cross my I's dot my Ts, so shit is squared away down the road?  What kind of session do I ask for? How do avoid getting fucked on shit I don't need?
i welcome surly bullshit answers, as well; but could use some legit advice too.  Thanks.

My condolences. You need to talk with a probate/estates attorney. What you'll need from there will depend on the amount and type of assets.  If there was no will, then what she wanted is largely irrelevant. 

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Condolences for your loss. Definitely get a local probate/estate attorney for where she lives. Since she has no will, you're going to have to prove heirship which the attorney will help you with. You'll probably need someone to go to the probate court to have your granted that authority. You'll need lots of death certificates to claim any outstanding insurance policies, her bank account, pension, and SSA. Hopefully, she put you or your siblings as the beneficiaries in the event of her passing but probably not. Not sure if she owns her home or automobile but you'll also need to take over those so you can liquidate anything or deal with the leftover balances if any. 

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No assets.

I am already on her bank account, with survivorship, no POD.

I'm mostly worried about past taxes and/ or other debtors.  Want to make sure I do it right without donating needlessly to attorney golf club/ bourbon fund.

Part of the frustration with my mom and my relationship is how she decided in her head that things were settled and divided three ways( it isn't easy,) and her funeral was set up and paid for( it isn't.) She basically ignored every bit of financial advice I ever gave her and chose to go the path of least resistance.  I've shared parts of it in the past on the board.  It sucks.  Once this is settled, a big fucking burden will be off my plate.

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Sorry for your loss. 

A probate proceeding would take care of any creditor's claims, to the detriment of that bank account.  You are also supposed to file a final income tax return and an estate tax return even if none is payable, but only if the estate exceeds 

$13,990,000

 

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-estate-taxes

 https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/how-do-i-file-a-deceased-persons-tax-return

In the absence of a probate, not really sure what happens.  At least in theory, only assets of the estate would be liable for creditor claims.  But once distributed to heirs and commingled with their funds, possibly more could be subject to creditor claims.

My Dad passed away with only a monthly balance of a couple hundred dollars on the credit card.  I logged in to pay it and it wouldn't let me.  I called and they had somehow received notice of his death and closed the account, and took like $50 in lieu of the couple hundred owed, right then and there. It was insane.

In an actual probate, if a creditor files an unsecured claim, they can usually be bought off for pennies on the dollar to avoid having to make an appearance and fight for some share of the assets.  If the appointed administrator fails to properly do all this, s/he can become liable for portions of any debts.

 

 

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28 minutes ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

@TwiceHorn could a SEA/Small Estate Affidavit apply here?  I vaguely remember a friend doing a few years ago, but do not know all the details it involves.  I'll hang up and get a pencil for some notes. 

Yeah it could.  Not sure it's necessary, though.  I think that helps with property titles, like cars and real estate and even accounts when there's no survivorship, or POD, or tenants in common.

But, slorch should talk to a lawdog.

This isn't my area, but I have been administrator of both my parents estates and am an educated observer.

https://texaslawhelp.org/article/small-estate-affidavits  That might be just the ticket.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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That Texas Law Help has consistently pretty good information, I think.  It seems to be put up by an actual indigent representation 501c3 and seems to be reliable.

I notice that the SEA page has links to local practices on SEAs, and Dallas' is pretty comprehensive, even if Dallas isn't the location in question.  There's even a chart of intestate succession that might have been handy during the bar exam.

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2 hours ago, cabowabo said:

She’s dead and had no assets.  I’m not sure there is any need to do anything. 

This.  My dad died a couple of years ago leaving a 100k life insurance policy and all of his meager assets to be split between me, my brother, and my sister.  We just did it.  I sold his old suburban in a day and we split the cash.  My sister handled the life insurance and cut me and my brother a check for 1/3 each (after funeral expenses).  We split up antiques and stuff that we wanted ammicably with no fighting.  Why give an attorney money to do this?

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